Liverpool FC have been linked with a couple of players through reports emanating from local papers of the players.
The first is Ecuadorian defender Joel Ordóñez, who plays for Club Brugge. The 22-year-old defender was linked with several teams in the summer, with a move to Marseille looking likely at one point, which ultimately did not materialise. He was also briefly linked to Liverpool, before the Reds decided to proceed with the transfer of Giovanni Leoni instead.
According to BOLA VIP’s Jose Cedeño Mendoza:
“The Ecuadorian centre-back, Joel Ordóñez, entered Liverpool’s plans for this market and for his signing to be effective, the English club would make an offer of more than the €40 million that Brugge want and would also offer the player a salary of more than €3 million per season.”
Blessed with pace to cover ground, comfortable in possession, good in the air (won 70% of his aerial duels)… it’s easy to see why Liverpool would be interested. The caveat here is obviously that it’s a huge leap to make from the Belgian Pro League to the English Premier League. Still €40 million isn’t a crazy number given that he performed rather well last season in the Champions League, and that they were choosing between him and Leoni in the summer. He should be able to step into Leoni’s spot for now with just three healthy centre-backs in the squad for now.
As for the second player, it’s Brighton’s 21-year-old attacker Yankuba Minteh, who was also linked with Liverpool a year ago, before those rumours were dismissed. A player who played for Slot on loan at Feyenoord, it’s also easy to see why the player would be linked. According to a report from FootAfrica, Liverpool are prepared to pay over £100 million in order to get the deal done.
Now… this figure, I don’t quite believe Liverpool are ready to shell out that much after the summer they’ve had. It makes sense to a certain degree though. With Luis Diaz’s departure, the frontline has missed his ballcarrying abilities, as well as his intensity and effort in the press. Those are attributes Minteh has in spades, and he could eventually slot in on the right-wing (and across all of the frontline) if or when Mo Salah leaves.
I honestly don’t know what to make of reports from local sources like these most of the time. It’s harder to dimiss them, but Ordóñez does seem to at least be plausible. Together with the Antoine Semenyo rumours, these do at least seem more focused on addressing the physical and intensity deficiencies present in the current squad, which makes sense.