Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp wants to make Chelsea midfielder N'Golo Kante his first summer signing, according to a new report.
The Reds added one new face during the January transfer window as forward Cody Gakpo made the move from PSV Eindhoven. But throughout the month, there was an increasing demand and desperation from supporters for the club to refresh Klopp's under-performing midfield.
However, the German had already hinted that the midfield refresh will come during the summer transfer window ahead of the 2023-24 season.
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Borussia Dortmund and England star Jude Bellingham remains the big target for Liverpool. But a report in Spain suggests that initial attention will be turned to Kante.
The France World Cup winner has helped Chelsea to win the Premier League, Champions League and many other trophies since he made the move from Leicester City, where he was a key part of their incredible title-winning squad. But Kante hasn't featured since August this season after succumbing to a muscle injury.
And, as he enters the final six months of his Chelsea contract, El Nacional claim that the Reds want to make the 31-year-old their first signing of the summer.
Chelsea's squad is currently undergoing a major overhaul. The free-spending Londoners made seven additions to their squad during January with an eighth set to be announced today. It will be a British transfer record, too, after they agreed a £107m deal for Benfica's World Cup-winning Argentina midfielder Enzo Fernandez.
Mykhaylo Mudryk, who made his debut against Liverpool recently, has also arrived along with Benoit Badiashile, David Datro Fofana, Andrey Santos, Joao Felix, Noni Madueke and Malo Gusto. Once Fernandez's transfer is complete, Chelsea will have splashed out around £288m in the winter transfer window. That follows the £270m they spent in the summer.
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