Liverpool have a busy summer ahead of them in the transfer market as they look to give new manager Arne Slot the best possible start at the helm.
Slot has taken the reins from Jurgen Klopp at Liverpool and the Reds hierarchy will be eager to make sure the Dutchman’s squad is as strong as possible for next season.
Liverpool have been linked with many top players in recent months, and now Fabrizio Romano has spoken about links between the Reds and “one of the best talents around Europe”.
The player in question is PSV Eindhoven winger Johan Bakayoko, who is set to compete at Euro 2024 with the Belgium national team.
Liverpool have been linked with the 21-year-old for a while now, with speculation going back to last year.
With the summer transfer window now set to open, the Reds are once again being linked with Bakayoko.
Belgian outlet HLN claimed in May that PSV have told Liverpool they want a new club record fee for their player.
Their record sale is £35million, which is what the Reds paid for Netherlands international Cody Gakpo in December 2022.
What has Fabrizio Romano said about Liverpool and Johan Bakayoko?
Romano, writing on GiveMeSport, said Liverpool have been looking at Bakayoko and know him “very well”.
However, the Reds haven’t gone further than just scouting and monitoring the player, who is also on the radar of “many” other clubs on the continent.
“There are many clubs looking at Bakayoko, not only Liverpool,” said Romano.
“I could mention six or seven clubs who are asking for information. He is one of the best talents around Europe in his position.
“At the moment, I am not aware of anything advanced with Liverpool. In terms of scouting, for sure, he is a player they know very well, but they have not started concrete negotiations for Bakayoko.
“There are many clubs in England, but also in Germany, who are interested. There are many possibilities for him, so he wants to take his time to see the best opportunity.
“He is going to be one of the names for the transfer market, for sure, he will be one of the big names to follow.
“But at the moment, it’s not something imminent. I do not expect any imminent movement around Bakayoko.”
Who is Liverpool target Johan Bakayoko?
Johan Bakayoko is a regular for PSV, with eight goals and 13 assists from 40 competitive club outings last season. He also has nine caps for Belgium.
In terms of his style of play, scouting outlet Foot The Ball wrote: “Bakayoko is a player with all the traits of a proper winger.
“However, the player has shown incredible maturity in adding other skills to his arsenal, including his fantastic deployment of the high press.
“The attacker spends considerable time behind the half-line helping his team out defensively. In fact, his skills and high work rate are pretty similar to a certain Sadio Mane.”
Football Talent Scout‘s Jacek Kulig has likened Bakayoko to Chelsea’s Noni Madueke, while Adrian Clarke said he’s similar in style to Arsenal’s Bukayo Saka.
Bakayoko seems like a good shout for Liverpool, so let’s see whether anything develops on this front in the coming weeks.