Liverpool could be eyeing a double raid on one of their Premier League rivals, according to reports from Italy.
Calciomercato have claimed that the Reds ‘have a double objective’ for Brighton midfield duo Alexis Mac Allister and Moises Caicedo, with the former also said to be attracting the interest of Manchester City.
The report states that the Argentine World Cup winner would command a fee of at least €75m (£66.1m), while his fellow South American had been the subject of an unsuccessful attempt at a transfer from Jurgen Klopp in January, when he reportedly had a gargantuan £90m price tag (as per Daily Express).
If Liverpool were to go in for both Seagulls players in the summer for those fees, they could be looking at spending more than £150m on the pair.
The Reds will be patently aware of the qualities Mac Allister and Caicedo could bring to their midfield, with the duo having played their part in some impressive results for Brighton against the Merseysiders this term.
As per Sofascore, they won a combined seven tackles and 13 duels in the 3-3 draw at Anfield in October, with the Argentine completing all three of his dribbles on the day.
The South Americans stood out again in the Seagulls’ 3-0 win over Liverpool at the Amex Stadium in mid-January, winning four tackles and 11 duels, completing 136 passes and both posting a 100% dribble success rate. The Ecuadorian also completed all five of his long balls that afternoon (Sofascore).
Caicedo didn’t feature in the FA Cup clash between the sides a fortnight later but Mac Allister was in action that day, winning four duels and completing 89% of his passes (Sofascore).
Both players are evidently very capable midfielders, but Liverpool must be careful not to pay over the odds for them in a summer where widespread transfer activity may be needed at Anfield.
As per Football Transfers, the Brighton duo have a combined market value of €58.5m (£51.5m) – just a third of the amalgamated price tags cited in the aforementioned transfer reports.
They could certainly be smart additions, but the price needs to be right.
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