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In talks: Liverpool working on first summer signing who dominated Barcelona – report

Originally posted on Empire of the Kop
By Farrell Keeling | Last updated 4/22/24

Liverpool have been told that reported transfer target Ferland Mendy would be a starter for ‘many’ European clubs.

Matteo Moretto informed CaughtOffside that Carlo Ancelotti is reluctant to part ways with the 28-year-old left-back.

“Ferland Mendy has been linked with an exit from Real Madrid, but it’s worth pointing out that Carlo Ancelotti likes Mendy a lot. He would not be opposed at all to Mendy staying,” the reporter said.

“Looking at it from a squad planning point of view, if Alphonso Davies arrives, then maybe you have to sell one of him or Fran Garcia. Between the two of them, Mendy is the one that has more interest, more teams asking about him, so you get an idea of the situation.

“In France it came out that Bayern Munich might want Mendy in a swap for Davies – I cannot confirm nor deny that at the moment, but it is true that Mendy’s future could be linked to that of Davies. Clearly, Davies would sign to start at Real Madrid, but Mendy would be a starter at many clubs in Europe, and perhaps as a result he will end up looking for an exit.”

This follows on from a report relayed by the Metro asserting that the Reds and Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal have opened talks with the Frenchman’s representatives ahead of the summer window.

Ferland Mendy to Liverpool?

In all honesty, it seems a somewhat unlikely signing with Andy Robertson (30) standing in the way of a first-team starting slot.

You can certainly make the case that Mendy would be an upgrade on Kostas Tsimikas (27) in the backline. Though the question remains: Would the Real Madrid footballer be prepared to potentially play second-fiddle to the Scotland national skipper?

We highly doubt it, but we remain open to a surprise beyond Jurgen Klopp’s departure at the end of the season.

Praise from Lamine Yamal

One of the former Lyon star’s best games for Madrid came in the Spanish Super Cup final against Barcelona.

Speaking after the tie, highly-rated young attacker Lamine Yamal specifically pointed to the 28-year-old’s performance (via TheRealChamps): “In the Spanish Super Cup final, it was really tough against Ferland Mendy.”

It wasn’t the most statistically eye-opening performance from what we can tell on Sofascore, though it’s sometimes worth acknowledging tributes more than numbers.

This article first appeared on Empire of the Kop and was syndicated with permission.

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