Liverpool appear interested in signing a midfielder over the course of the summer transfer window.
The Reds spent most of last year’s window piecing together a new midfield to give them a shot at the Premier League title.
By and large, the whole thing was a success. Alexis Mac Allister was a particularly good signing, while Dominik Szoboszlai remains a player with huge potential.
Ryan Gravenberch will only get better too, while Wataru Endo served his purpose well for Liverpool.
Despite that influx of new talent at Anfield though, the feeling lingers that Arne Slot could just do with one more. With that in mind, Liverpool have now learnt whether their pursuit of one target has been a success.
Assan Ouedraogo set to join RB Leipzig
Part of Liverpool’s midfield plan could be to target young players with high potential who aren’t quite ready to be full-time starters.
The Reds do have numbers in the squad for the time being so don’t necessarily need someone to come in and be a difference maker immediately.
Stefan Bajcetic is obviously an example of a player Liverpool have high hopes for in the future and it might be prudent to target a potential future partner the Spaniard.
With that in mind, the Reds had reportedly set their sights on Schalke talent Assan Ouedraogo.
Having burst onto the scene last season, the ‘explosive’ Ouedraogo was said to have been the subject of an enquiry from Liverpool as recently as last week.
However, Liverpool weren’t the only ones interested. And according to journalist Florian Plettenberg on X, the Reds are now set to be beaten to the 18-year-old.
READ MORE: All Liverpool incomings, outgoings, loans and releases for 2024/25
“Assan Ouedraogo has decided to join RB Leipzig!” Plettenberg reports. “Last details between the player’s camp, Leipzig and Schalke about a permanent deal of the 18 y/o top talent will be clarified now. Contract until 2029. RB will trigger the release clause of around €10m [£8.4m].”
“Currently, the plan is for Leipzig to keep Ouedraogo initially and assess him during the summer preparation. A decision about a loan-back to S04 could be made late in the transfer window.
“Newcastle, Frankfurt, Chelsea and more teams were pushing for Ouedraogo in the last hours. But RB now close to finalize the deal.”
Liverpool lose Assan Ouedraogo race
While disappointing, this should not come as a surprise to any Liverpool supporter.
Although they had been mentioned in connection with Ouedraogo as far back as last October, the Reds had never felt like favourites.
Almost as soon as he’d been linked there were claims that Ouedraogo was not keen on a move to Liverpool.
As a result, it would have been a surprise had the youngster chosen to reverse that decision. Besides, Leipzig looks like a good fit for him.
If Ouedraogo does well with the Red Bull club, then we’d imagine that Liverpool will come knocking again. The two clubs have done business before.
So, we certainly would not remove Ouedraogo from the radar completely, but for now it’s time to look elswhere in the market.