Liverpool are pulling no punches in their pursuit of prominence after falling flat last season and failing to qualify for the Champions League and could look to sign Crystal Palace's Cheick Doucoure to continue the summer rebuild.
Alexis Mac Allister and Dominick Szoboszlai have both been signed already after James Milner, Naby Keita and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain departed upon the expiry of their contracts, while Jordan Henderson and Fabinho are both looking to complete moves to the Saudi Pro League.
The departure of Fabinho in particular would leave a hole in the midfield department, and Doucoure would be a worthy successor after an exemplary maiden campaign in English football that saw the Mali international secure the Eagles' Player of the Season award.
Are Liverpool interested in Cheick Doucoure?
According to journalist Graeme Bailey, speaking on the Talking Transfers podcast last week, the 23-year-old is a player that the Anfield chiefs 'love' after his strong performances in the Premier League.
He said: “Palace don’t need to sell and he’s an important player for them. From what I’m told in the [Liverpool} analytics department he’s a real highlight. They love him.”
The Daily Mail have reported that Palace have placed a £70m valuation on one of their most coveted assets, and while this is certainly a staggering sum, if Liverpool decide to push for the crème de la crème, they should head towards south London.
How good is Cheick Doucoure?
After a year of foiled ambition, Jurgen Klopp's Reds will be pushing to return to the forefront of English football and fight for the league title as opposed to scrambling – unsuccessfully – for a place in the top four.
The midfield's inability to effectively protect the backline was one of the chief reasons behind Anfield's seasonal demise, and for all the work plied on the transfer front to remedy this problem thus far, a top-class pivot is still required to knit the centre together with steel thread.
Enter Doucoure; praised as a star capable of "destroying everyone" in his path by one journalist, the £60k-per-week ace ranks among the top 3% of midfielders across Europe's top five leagues over the past year for interceptions, the top 19% for blocks and the top 18% for clearances per 90, as per FBref.
A veritable machine in the midfield, Doucoure's role would consist of industriously sweeping up danger and instigating promising forward transitions, something that could bring the best out of Mac Allister, who is raring to go after his £35m move from Brighton & Hove Albion.
The 24-year-old "golden boy" – as he has been called by content creator Ryan Adsett – was immense last term, recording an average Sofascore rating of 7.21 in the English top-flight as he scored ten goals from 31 starts, averaging 2.5 shots and two tackles per game, and succeeding with 67% of his dribbles and 57% of his ground duels.
Truly an all-encompassing phenom, and one who could genuinely reignite the fire that has been missing from Liverpool's belly, but he cannot effectively ply his trade with a gaping hole in the defensive midfield behind him.
Moises Caicedo, touted with a £100m move to Chelsea, held the thriving Seagulls ship together last term and left manager Roberto De Zerbi saying that he could "become one of the best midfielders in the Premier League and in Europe."
Doucoure could emulate the impact the Ecuadorian had on Mac Allister, and Klopp must think hard about the best course of action to complete his summer revival and chart a course for success once again.