‘Definitely something in that…’ – Liverpool journo talks up Reds links with Premier League ace
A trusted Liverpool-focused journalist has given his backing to recent transfer links involving the Reds and a current Premier League player.
Last week, Algerian reporter Abdel Hamad claimed that Arne Slot’s side are in pole position to snap up Rayan Ait-Nouri from Wolves, although some LFC supporters may have had reservations over the validity of the source.
However, the reliable David Lynch has now corroborated those rumours, citing a strong existing relationship between the Merseyside club and the 23-year-old’s representatives.
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Speaking to Anfield Index about the links with the Molineux left-back, the journalist said: “I think there’s definitely legs in this one. He’s been linked so frequently recently and Liverpool have a great relationship with his agency, so I think there’s definitely something in that.”
However, he added the caveat that a move for Ait-Nouri would probably be contingent on Kostas Tsimikas leaving the Reds, stating: “You can’t just keep adding left-backs and hope it works itself out, Liverpool never operate like that.”
Ait-Nouri impressed for Wolves last season, chipping in with three goals and two assists from left-back as Gary O’Neil’s side steered well clear of the relegation fears which many pundits had forecast at the outset of the campaign.
The Algerian is a delight to watch when surging forward, ranking among the top 2% of positonal peers in Europe’s five main leagues over the past year for successful take-ons per game with 2.4 (FBref), while his tackling average (2.74 per match) is also among the best throughout the continent.
As Lynch rightly points out, though, it seems unlikely that Liverpool would push strongly for the 23-year-old unless it seemed certain that another player in that position – in this case Tsimikas – was about to leave.
In a parallel to the recent discourse about Anthony Gordon possibly replacing 27-year-old Luis Diaz on the left flank in our attack in the long-term, Ait-Nouri is four years the junior of the Greece international, who’s continually had to play backup to Andy Robertson throughout his time at Anfield.
We wouldn’t completely discount an approach for the Wolves defender over the next two months, although it’d likely need other dominoes to fall before a serious move is made.
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