Long-term rumours have Liverpool interested in signing AFC Bournemouth’s best purchase under new sports director Richard Hughes.
Liverpool’s summer transfer plans are still on track, despite the fact that the team hasn’t had a sporting director since the end of January.
Rather, chief scout Barry Hunter and head of recruitment Dave Fallows have been in charge of the team’s preparations since Jorg Schmadtke’s brief stint came to an end. Behind the scenes at Anfield, everything are still operating as normal, despite the fact that Richard Hughes—the club’s soon-to-be sporting director—won’t begin work until June 1 and that the hunt for Jurgen Klopp’s replacement is still ongoing.
For the first time since October 2015, the team will require a new manager, therefore it will be interesting to see what plans the club has for the summer when the transfer window reopens. Regarding what the hiring team is working on at the moment as well as what Hughes and the next management thinks is essential.
The front line might not be immune to such surgery, as observers would have insisted six months ago that Liverpool probably needed a new holding midfielder, right-back, center-back, and backup goalkeeper at the very least. There were also concerns about Mohamed Salah’s long-term future, as his contract expires in 2025.
The emergence of so many gifted young players from the Reds’ academy in the face of an increasing injury issue in recent months has offered a wealth of internal options, even though some incoming business will depend on outgoings.
After Liverpool defeated Southampton in the FA Cup last month, Klopp reminded spectators, “We’ve said it a few times that the future does not look too bad.” “However, it’s possible that individuals remember it when the transfer window opens.
“Don’t close the door for our pretty promising players with 12 signings; we already have a couple of them.”
After such a statement, Jarell Quansah, Conor Bradley, and Bobby Clark are probably the first players that spring to mind, but they are by no means the only young stars that have quickly established themselves as starters on the first team.
Even said, it could be easier to advocate for a new center-back at Anfield given the rise of Quansah. Virgil van Dijk, the club captain, is past 30, and Joel Matip is out of contract in the summer, so Klopp had acknowledged last year that the team was looking for a player of that kind before needing to concentrate entirely on their midfield makeover.
Prior to Quansah’s promotion last year, the club preferred a young, left-sided alternative. Despite this, transfer rumours have not stopped since his arrival. Over the past season, players like Marc Guehi, Piero Hincapie, Ousmane Diomande, and Goncalo Inacio have all been linked to Liverpool in transfer rumours.
However, with Hughes’ hiring, should the Reds now go to a former target who has been linked to a Merseyside move once more this season?
After watching Tottenham Hotspur’s £20 million bid for his services last summer be turned down, Lloyd Kelly’s contract at Bournemouth expires at the end of the 2023–2024 campaign. He has not yet signed an extension. He will currently leave on a Bosman move at the end of the current campaign.
Following Spurs’ proposal, Kelly’s manager at Bournemouth, Adoni Iraola, stated of the player, “He is very valuable as a centre-back or a left-back and we want him to be part of the team,” before hinting at a potential future departure. “There are times when circumstances are beyond your control and success requires the happiness of all involved parties.”
Kelly was previously considered by the Reds twice. After capturing the attention of Bristol City in the Championship, Liverpool attempted to acquire the 20-year-old in the summer of 2019 to replace Andy Robertson as his deputy. However, the player’s £13 million move to Bournemouth turned down Anfield management.
And once the Cherries were relegated a year later, the defender was once more considered as a possible target. After failing to pursue Kelly in 2019, the Reds decided to move for the Greek, making Kelly their “fourth-choice” target on a four-man shortlist that also included Kostas Tsimikas, Jamal Lewis, and Sergio Reguilon.
However, if Liverpool does in fact rekindle interest in the Bournemouth defender, it might be third times lucky.
If such a move materialised, it would be rational for several reasons. First of all, it wouldn’t be the first time the Reds had successfully re-engaged a prior target; Ryan Gravenberch is the most recent example, and Salah is the most well-known.
Kelly is only 25 years old, so he still has plenty of good years ahead of him, and his contract is about to expire. He would boost Liverpool’s quotas because he is a homegrown player, and his versatility is equally enticing. As Irola said, a defender is extremely useful at both left and centre back, independent of the team for which he plays.
The defender was brought to the Vitality Stadium in large part thanks to Hughes, who also disclosed the extent of the Cherries’ pre-signing scouting of him in an interview with the Official AFC Bournemouth Podcast in April 2021.
He remarked, “Lloyd Kelly, we had scouted him for more than just his appearances for Bristol City’s first team and England Under-21s.” He had done a lot of work in Bristol in earlier age groups, which, in my opinion, makes you more capable of acting quickly.
“Thus, if you looked at Lloyd beforehand, you kind of knew that was always going to happen when he comes on and does really well in one Championship game.”
It is obvious that Hughes is familiar with the player, and that Liverpool and their new sporting director have researched him extensively over the years. If he is confident the defender can succeed at Anfield, he is also in the perfect position to suggest him to the Reds.
Kelly is available on a free transfer, so if Liverpool wants to add a centre defender this summer, their new sporting director might be able to help them ultimately acquire their target.
