Could it be us? That’s what Liverpool fans have been asking this morning after reports in France claimed that an unnamed Premier League club had made a £25m bid for AS Monaco midfielder Geoffrey Kondogbia.
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The Reds have certainly shown an interest in the player in the past – via the Daily Mail – but it’s understandable that such rumours were somewhat passed over earlier this month, especially considering the fact that we get linked with a different player every single day… or at least that’s what it fills like!
There are of course two distinct possibilities here. One is that we’ve not followed up our initial interest and we’re not the team in question. There is evidence to support this. Arsenal are also tracking the player, who scored against them in the Champions League earlier this season, while The Metro names them as the prime candidates.
The other possibility is that it IS us. That’s not totally out of the question either. Brendan Rodgers has a reputation for signing young talent and we’ve clearly been looking closely at Ligue 1 recently – following the Paul-Georges Ntep rumours earlier this week (via talkSPORT).
We’re also in need of a central midfielder to replace outgoing captain Steven Gerrard. With the comparative experience of Lucas Leiva, Jordan Henderson and Joe Allen already in the ranks, it’s entirely plausible that Rodgers would look for a youthful replacement who could prosper alongside another Liverpool starlet, Emre Can.
So is Kondogbia worth all the hype? He’s only 22, he’s already played in La Liga (with Sevilla), as well as Ligue 1. He also has three caps for France, having made his debut back in 2013, and has previous won the Under-20 World Cup.
He even helped Monaco reach the quarter-finals of the Champions League this season, where they suffered a narrow defeat to Juventus. Here’s what some hopeful Liverpool fans have had to say this week…
An English club has made a €35m bid to AS Monaco for #Kondogbia. there’s a decent chance it could be #LFC given their interest. (Le10 Sport)
— Coutinho & Sturridge (@LFC_NO10) May 8, 2015
Don’t get me wrong I want Lacazette, Kovacic, Kondogbia, Depay, Cech and Varane like the rest of you. I’m just realistic. #LFC
— Mr_CallumWright (@Mr_CallumWright) May 7, 2015
I say buy Kondogbia and Kovacic and then we’ll have options in midfield to play against topteams and the rest with different balance. #LFC
— Jonthe (@jonthe) May 8, 2015
Hoping #LFC will sign 3 players from Ligue 1 in the summer window: Ntep, Kondogbia and N’Koulou. Should look elsewhere for strikers!
— Per Qvist (@pelle2x) May 7, 2015