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Tag: Lloyd Kelly

Richard Hughes to make the incredible first signing of a talent who eluded Michael Edwards twice at Liverpool.

Richard Hughes might be able to assist Liverpool in signing a Bournemouth player that Michael Edwards twice failed to sign, and Hughes’ presence would make sense considering the departure of a star player for Jurgen Klopp.

An attempt by FSG, the owners of Liverpool, to rehire Michael Edwards earlier in March was successful. Between 2011 and 22, Edwards did amazing things for Liverpool, and he was hailed as the man who set the pieces in place so that the Reds could succeed under Jurgen Klopp.

Edwards is back at FSG serving as the group CEO of Football. Richard Hughes will take over as sporting director at Anfield, reporting directly to Edwards, replacing Jorg Schmadtke. Hughes agreed to join Liverpool, but he left the Cherries earlier in March.

On June 1, the 44-year-old will begin working for Liverpool. However, the Liverpool Echo claims that we may already be aware of his first signing.

Lloyd Kelly, a defender for Bournemouth, is also set to depart the Cherries concurrently with Hughes’ arrival at the Reds.

When his contract expires at the end of the current campaign, the versatile 25-year-old left-footer is expected to become a free agent. Bournemouth is still hopeful that they can work out an extension, but there’s no guarantee Kelly will agree to new conditions.

Kelly, who can play centre back or left back with equal comfort, is reportedly of interest to AC Milan. Following Bournemouth’s rejection of a £20 million bid for the midfielder last summer, Tottenham has kept an eye on the youngster.

Kelly in, Matip out?

But Liverpool is also impressed with Kelly, and since Joel Matip is likely to be let go after his contract expires, adding Kelly makes sense.

Matip, 32, is out of contract this summer and is not likely to receive a new contract offer from FSG because he recently had ACL surgery.

Kelly is portrayed by The Liverpool Echo as Hughes’ possible first Merseyside acquisition. Furthermore, back in 2019, Hughes was the one who annoyed Liverpool by enticing Kelly to Bournemouth.

Kelly was on the roster of Bristol City when Liverpool, then under the direction of Michael Edwards, made an inquiry about signing him.

But Hughes and Bournemouth outperformed the Reds, completing Kelly’s £13 million signing.

Paul Joyce of the Times claims that after Hughes’ coup, Edwards called to congratulate his rival.

Joyce writes, “To Liverpool’s dismay, Hughes was successful in convincing defender Lloyd Kelly to turn down Merseyside’s offer and move to Bournemouth in May 2019 for £13 million.”

“That transaction led to a reluctant, congrats phone call from Michael Edwards, Liverpool’s sporting director at the time, to Hughes.”

Hughes’ next career move has now been made possible by Edwards’ appointment as chief executive of football at Liverpool’s owner, Fenway Sports Group.

Kelly and Liverpool, third times lucky?
A year later, The Liverpool Echo also draws attention to another chance that Edwards and the Reds failed to seize.

Kelly was relegated to the Championship in his debut season as a member of Bournemouth. Liverpool was among the teams that made rapid inquiries about the player.

Kelly continued to evade Liverpool at the moment, but Klopp was still searching for a left-sided defender. Rather, Kostas Tsimikas, a Greek left-back, signed for £11.75 million from Olympiacos.

In the present day, the Echo is promoting the notion that Liverpool has at last acquired Kelly. The fact that there will be no transfer fees to pay now that he is available makes the move even more alluring.

With Edwards leading the team and Hughes pulling the strings—both of whom are obviously huge supporters of Kelly—a long-awaited move to Anfield may finally be imminent.

March 22, 2024
Following Klopp’s astounding assurance, Liverpool will exercise the €60 million release clause on the Man Utd target.

Liverpool is ‘willing’ to trigger a center-back’s release clause in order to beat out Real Madrid, Barcelona, and Manchester United to acquire him; however, the move may not concern United, since they are reportedly focusing on acquiring a defender of their own.

In 2024, both Manchester United and Liverpool will be searching for a new centre back. Regarding Man Utd, Fabrizio Romano gave his confirmation in an October interview with Caught Offside.

The dependable source stated, “We know Man Utd want a top center-back for 2024, so we’re going to see a lot of names linked.”

Joel Matip appears to have no intention of accepting a contract extension from Liverpool.

At the end of the current campaign, the 32-year-old will become a free agent, and according to The Liverpool Echo, “no efforts to agree fresh terms have been made.”

Lloyd Kelly of Bournemouth is a player that Liverpool is well-known to respect. The Reds are drawn to the left-footer because of his versatility, as he can also play left-back.

Four players that Manchester United is keeping an eye on are Goncalo Inacio (Sporting Lisbon), Antonio Silva (Benfica), Jean-Clair Todibo (Nice), and Edmond Tapsoba (Bayer Leverkusen), according to Romano.

Inacio is also on Anfield’s watch list, and Liverpool is willing to move on their interest in bringing the defender to England, according to a recent report from Spain that was reported by The Manchester Evening News.

The 22-year-old left-footer is reportedly “the favourite” to sign with Liverpool. Although Barcelona and Real Madrid are also contenders, Jurgen Klopp’s team is prepared to stake a claim. There is a €60 million (about £52.6 million) release clause in Inacio’s Sporting contract.

Liverpool “intends to bet very strongly on Inacio” and is “willing to pay what it would cost,” according to the report. Stated differently, they’re prepared to apply the release clause.

Klopp’s incredible assurance boosts Liverpool’s prospects.

This remarkably claimed portion of Liverpool’s pitch will ensure that Inacio plays from the opening lineup at Anfield, symbolising Liverpool’s obvious faith in the young player.

If Inacio were signed, Ibrahima Konate would be demoted to the bench because Virgil van Dijk is still untouchable at center-half.

Van Dijk might, however, be moved from left centre back to right centre back for the first time in his Reds career because Inacio is a left-footed player.

According to the Spanish newspaper, Liverpool’s edge over Real Madrid stems from their commitment to ensure that Inacio plays a starting role.

Moreover, Liverpool’s advantage over Barcelona stems from their capacity to pay the release clause.

The article doesn’t say if Liverpool would wait until the summer to trigger Inacio’s clause or if it would happen in January.

Man Utd speed up separate defender pursuits.
News that Liverpool is willing to shell out a lot of money for Inacio is certain to irritate Old Trafford executives.

But it seems like United prioritised one of the two targets Romano highlighted in January nevertheless.

According to The Mirror, Man Utd made Nice’s Todibo their main target in January, and Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s influence will make a £40 million deal easier.

The British tycoon, who also owns the French team Nice, is ready to buy a twenty-five percent share in United.

More news……

Liverpool has been mentioned as a possible transfer partner for the 22-year-old Premier League player.

Although it is unlikely that a trade will be completed in January, Wolves left-back Rayan Ait-Nouri is apparently of interest to Liverpool.

This is based on reports from the French publication Le 10 Sport, which is unsure of the extent of Liverpool’s interest in the 22-year-old and whether or not they have contacted him.

Ait-Nouri has shown promise while playing for Wolves, and he seems like a capable long-term successor for Andrew Robertson at Liverpool. However, it’s unlikely that the Reds will view this as an immediate priority at this point.

However, Ait-Nouri is talented enough to transfer to a larger club, so it would be wise to monitor the Algerian international’s status in the next days, weeks, and months.

Le 10 Sport reports that it appears improbable that Wolves will allow the player to leave without a fight, so it may need to wait until next summer, and even then, it’s unclear how much he would cost.

Liverpool may be hoping to replicate the happiness they felt when they signed Diogo Jota from Wolves a few years ago.

November 20, 2023
Liverpool could make ‘third attempt’ to sign centre-back after £20mllion offer rejected

Liverpool have been linked with the move of former transfer target Lloyd Kelly

Although Jürgen Klopp publicly stated in May that he would sign a new central defender, Liverpool have failed to strengthen their defense this summer.
Instead, revamping the midfield became the priority as the Reds parted ways with £150m to sign Alex Mac Allister, Dominik Szoboszlai, Wataru Endo and Ryan Gravenberch.

Obviously they were looking for a young left-back, who could also play as a left-back and who would then fit well into their new preferred inverted full-back form. Levi Colwill had his admirers at Anfield after a successful season on loan at Brighton & Hove Albion, but the England Under-21 international opted to sign a new long-term contract with Chelsea instead.

Had Liverpool not been caught off guard by Saudi interest in Jordan Henderson and Fabinho, they might have looked for an alternative to Colwill.
Instead, all that remains is to further strengthen the midfield, which has already included Mac Allister and Szoboszlai, with the arrival of Endo and Gravenberch.

However, their failure to sign a new centre-back has already come under scrutiny four games into the new Premier League season.

Klopp was left with Joel Matip and Joe Gomez as a pair in the 3-0 win over Aston Villa, with teenager Jarell Quansah the only substitute, while Ibrahima Konate is currently unavailable with a muscle injury, and Virgil van Dijk was waiting to see if His suspension following his sending off against Newcastle United was extended after being charged by the FA.

Admittedly, the current shortage is only short-lived. But considering that Van Dijk, Konate, Matip and Gomez have all been sidelined by injuries at different times in recent years and failed to step up their efforts, Liverpool are playing with fire.

Although the Reds failed to sign a centre-back this summer, they will have to do so within the next 12 months as Matip is set to leave the club next year when his contract expires.

Meanwhile, Van Dijk is not getting any younger, he is now 32 and his contract expires in two years, while Gomez and Konate have recently been linked with a move to Saudi Arabia.

It is inconceivable that Liverpool would lose their four senior centre-backs in quick succession.
But after the club have transformed both attack and midfield over the past 18 months, it’s clear that a defensive overhaul will be next on the club’s to-do list.

In the long term, the Reds need a successor to Van Dijk. But for now, this versatile and sought-after young centre-back would initially serve as both a replacement for Matip and an alternative to Andy Robertson on the left of Liverpool’s defensive trio.

And their quest for such a player could see them rekindle interest in a former target they’ve tried to sign twice before.

According to information from 90min, Liverpool are once again interested in Lloyd Kelly from AFC Bournemouth. The 24-year-old’s contract at the Vitality Stadium expires at the end of the 2023/24 season and he is in no rush to commit to a contract as Tottenham Hotspur rejected a £20million offer for his services on deadline day Renewal.

The report suggests Spurs will make another move for the defender in January and also credits Liverpool and Newcastle United with interest in the former England Under-21 international.

And while Bournemouth were hoping for more than £20m on deadline day, his contract status ensures that if he still doesn’t sign an extension, he will be in for one due to the limited time they would have had to find a viable replacement could be available mid-season reduced fee ahead of a potential Bosman departure next summer.

“He’s very valuable as a centre-back or left-back and we want him to be part of the team,” Bournemouth coach Adoni Iraola said of Kelly following Spurs’ offer last week, before hinting at a possible future exit.

“Sometimes there are situations that you cannot control and everyone involved must be happy that something is happening.”

More news…….

Fabrizio Romano responds to the unexpected Liverpool transfer rumor of a swap.

Despite transfer rumors involving a potential swap deal for Joao Felix, Liverpool never thought about selling Darwin Nunez this summer.

Fabrizio Romano made this claim in his exclusive CaughtOffside column in response to some claims that Liverpool had the option of swapping Nunez for Felix.

The Uruguayan international didn’t have the easiest time in his first season at Anfield last year, but it appears that manager Jurgen Klopp and the club’s board were all in favor of keeping him.

There doesn’t seem to be much substance to this story as Nunez is reportedly content at Liverpool and proud of being seen as untouchable by the Merseyside giants, according to Romano.

Romano is quick to provide accurate information on which stories are worth paying attention to and which are exaggerated or even lacking in substance.
There is always a ton of rumors and speculation throughout the summer and even in between the transfer windows.

Darwin Nunez – Despite rumors that a trade for Joao Felix was under consideration, Liverpool never wanted Darwin Nunez to leave this summer, according to Romano.

“On the club side, the decision to retain Darwin was made in a very clear manner by the board and the manager. Darwin was overjoyed when Liverpool declared him untouchable.

September 8, 2023