Report: Liverpool have watched defensive ‘machine’ who could jump at the chance to join the Reds
Liverpool have reportedly sent a delegation to watch one Bundesliga defender who’d seemingly jump at the opportunity to play for the Reds in the future.
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Reports emerged last week that the Merseysiders are among several Premier League clubs to have ‘made checks’ on Eintracht Frankfurt centre-back Nnamdi Collins, who has become an ‘increasingly attractive option’ for prospective suitors from England.
It now seems that the 22-year-old – who was hailed as ‘a little machine’ by his former boss Dino Toppmoller (bulinews.com) – would be keen to test himself in the English top flight, and the reigning champions of that league could be near the top of his list.
Collins would reportedly jump at the chance to play for Liverpool
According to Sky Germany (via Bulinews), the defender is eager to ‘take the next step’ in his career and ‘join a top club’ in the summer.
Collins is understood to be ‘a fan of the Premier League’ and of Liverpool in particular, and the Reds are reportedly among the English suitors to have recently watched him play live.
Arsenal, Manchester City, Newcastle, Brighton and Brentford are all believed to have taken an interest as well, and a price tag in the region of €40m (£35m) has been cited for a player whose current contract runs to 2030.
£35m would be a reasonable fee for Liverpool to pay for Collins
The report doesn’t specify which games Liverpool are understood to have had representatives watching Collins, but if Eintracht’s 2-0 win over Freiburg on Sunday was one of them, then the Anfield delegation would surely have liked what they saw from the Germany international.
He provided the assist for the opening goal by surging forward from deep and driving into space before threading a perfect pass into Fares Chaibi, who duly finished to the net, and his underlying performance numbers were also impressive, as seen below with figures from Sofascore.
| Nnamdi Collins v Freiburg | |
| Passes completed | 67/72 (93% success) |
| Accurate long balls | 5/5 |
| Duels won | 4 |
| Free kicks won | 3 |
| Tackles | 1 |
| Clearances | 1 |
Similar to Joe Gomez, whose own future has been the subject of recent speculation, the 22-year-old is equally comfortable at centre-back and right-back, and he can even deputise on the left flank if required (just as he did at the weekend).
Considering that Liverpool paid an initial £55m to sign another defender in Jeremy Jacquet (20 years old, 57 senior career games, none in Europe), an asking price of £35m for Collins – who’s a couple of years older and whose 61 first-team appearances include some in the Champions League – seems reasonable.
That the Eintracht player would seemingly jump at the chance to play in the Premier League – and for the Reds in particular – must surely strike a chord with the Anfield hierarchy if they consider him to be a genuine transfer option for the summer.
We’ll be keeping a close eye on his performances in the Bundesliga over the next couple of months!
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