Liverpool will continue their efforts to rebuild the midfield following Alexis Mac Allister's signing with France international Khephren Thuram one of a handful under consideration.
The Reds officially confirmed the capture of Mac Allister from Brighton on Thursday on a five-year deal after triggering the Argentina international's release clause in a contract that was signed in October last year. The fee is undisclosed but is thought to be between £35m-£45m.
The deal marks the first piece of significant business by Jurgen Klopp this summer and the Reds are set to step up their recruitment drive ahead of the transfer window officially opening on June 14.
After losing James Milner, Naby Keita and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain on free transfers, it is understood that midfield remains the priority for Klopp and newly-appointed sporting director Jorg Schmadtke as they weigh up their next move ahead of pre-season, which starts for Liverpool on July 8.
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Nice star Thuram is one of several being assessed following an excellent individual campaign in France's Ligue 1. His form was good enough to catch the eye of France boss Didier Deschamps who named the 22-year-old in his squad for the March international fixtures where he came on as a late substitute in a 4-0 win over Virgil van Dijk's Holland before being left on the bench for a 1-0 win over Ireland.
Southampton's 19-year-old starlet Romeo Lavia is another being monitored alongside the likes of Ryan Gravenberch of Bayern Munich and Borussia Monchengladbach's Manu Kone, who are 21 and 22, respectively. Belgium international Lavia and Thuram are set to be involved in the upcoming European Under-21 tournament in Georgia and Romania across late June and early July.
The profiles of all four players suggests that Klopp is looking at the long-term make-up of his midfield department following the departures of Milner, Oxlade-Chamberlain and Keita, who all arrived at the club between the years of 2015 and 2018.
While the emergence of 18-year-old Stefan Bajcetic and the recent form of 22-year-old Curtis Jones have been welcome developments at Anfield this calendar year, the Reds' ranks are still top heavy with players at the other end of their careers with Thiago Alcantara at 32, Fabinho entering his 30s in October and captain Jordan Henderson, who turns 33 this month.
As a result the plan has been to reduce the age-range of the engine room department with 24-year-old Mac Allister viewed as the first block of that rebuilding process.
Mason Mount had been a target but the Chelsea midfielder appears to be edging closer to a move to Manchester United while it's unlikely that tentative interest in the England international's colleague at Stamford Bridge Conor Gallagher will be revived. Celta Vigo's Gabri Veiga is another who has been linked of late.
Wolves' Portugal international Matheus Nunes has admirers within the recruitment department although it remains to be seen how firm that interest is after a difficult debut season in the Premier League at Molineux.
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