Liverpool urged towards ‘excellent’ Villa transfer as Fabinho prepares farewell

Liverpool icon Stan Collymore has given his advice on who Jurgen Klopp should target for his midfield rebuild. The German manager has already lost James Milner, Navy Keita and Alex Oxlaide-Chamberlain this summer, and with Robert Fabinho and Jordan Henderson looking set to leave for the Saudi Arabian league, Liverpool’s midfield corps has taken a considerable hit.

To combat this, the Reds have signed Brighton’s Alexis Mac Allister for £35million off the back of a World Cup win and a Premier League season wherein he was top scorer for the Seagulls, establishing himself as a very capable player in the squad.

Another addition to Liverpool’s midfield is the Hungarian Dominik Szoboszlai, bought for £60million from RB Leipzig. Szoboszlai was essential in Leipzig’s build-up play, leading the Bundesliga with 41 secondary chances created last season.

To further strengthen this new-look Liverpool midfield, Collymore has urged Klopp to consider bringing new midfield additions to the club, including Brighton’s Moises Caicedo and Aston Villa’s “exceptional” Boubacar Kamara.

Collymore told Caught Offside: “To replace Fabinho, I think Liverpool should break the bank for Brighton’s Moises Caicedo and although it might be a little too soon for him, Aston Villa’s Boubacar Kamara would be an excellent acquisition for Klopp having been exceptional at times last season.”

Both acquisitions would be impressive for the Reds; Caicedo is currently being wooed by Chelsea, and Kamara is contracted to Villa until 2027, having joined on a free transfer from Ligue 1 team Olympique de Marseille on a free transfer in 2021.

Brighton are reportedly looking for around £100m for Caicedo, having rejected two bids from Arsenal in the January transfer window, the most expensive of which was £70m. More recently, Brighton turned down the same offer from Chelsea for the midfielder.

Caicedo made the second most tackles and interceptions in the Premier League last season, and eight most touches across all players, proving his skill and importance to the Brighton squad.

If Liverpool want to steal Caicedo from under the nose of Chelsea, it will cost them greatly – likely tens of millions more than the sale of Henderson and Fabinho will bring to the club.

On the other hand, prising Kamara from Villa will not be an easy task. When asked last season about Kamara’s value in the Villa squad, boss Unai Emery was full of praise, saying: “He has big potential. Very big potential. He is playing well and is so focused on improving his game, improving his capacity with and without the ball. He has been developing, in France and here.”

Emery further indicated that Villa would be unwilling to let the Frenchman go, adding: “Now it is my responsibility to develop him even more than he has done so far.”

Liverpool will likely be aiming to make one more key signing to complete their refurbished pool of midfielders, but who the player will be is yet to be seen.