Liverpool midfield transfer search suffers blow as two targets close in on moves elsewhere

Erik ten Hag is 'happy and satisfied' after victory of Liverpool

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Liverpool could ultimately be forced to miss out on the signing of a new central midfielder this summer, with two of their reported targets said to be on course to join other clubs ahead of next week’s all-important deadline. The Reds are currently experiencing an injury crisis in the middle of the park, with Thiago Alcantara, Naby Keita, Curtis Jones and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain all sidelined with a range of different problems as things stand.

Jurgen Klopp has been urged to move for a new playmaker before the summer transfer window slams shut and a number of potential targets, including the likes of Leandro Paredes and Marco Asensio, have been linked with Liverpool over the last few weeks. However, the Merseyside giants look set to lose sight of the aforementioned duo over the coming days, according to Fabrizio Romano.

It is said that Paredes is close to joining Juventus rather than Liverpool in advance of next week’s deadline, with the 28-year-old having agreed personal terms with the Italian heavyweights ahead of his expected move to Turin. Talks are now underway at club level in order to reach a compromise over a transfer fee, which suggests that Liverpool will come up short in the race to secure the Argentina international’s signature in the near future.

Liverpool have also been tentatively linked with a move for Asensio, who has been tipped to leave Real Madrid in the final days of the summer window. However, the Spaniard is said to have emerged as a target for Manchester United, with the Red Devils having been on the lookout for a new midfielder all summer but to no avail as of yet.

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Red Devils manager Erik ten Hag is reportedly determined to follow up the recent signing of Casemiro by landing Asensio, with the latter having been mentioned in preliminary talks with Real Madrid last week. Therefore, it seems as though Liverpool will need to look elsewhere if they are to improve their midfield ranks this summer, with Klopp insisting earlier this month that a return to the market cannot be ruled out if the right opportunity presents itself over the next few days.

“We said we don’t need a midfielder because we have enough,” the Liverpool boss told reporters. “And we actually have enough, but the problem now is we get punished for something that is not our responsibility really because things like this can happen.

“A transfer must make sense now and in the long-term. We have eight midfielders, we still have enough midfielders. It is not that we lack midfielders, but it’s just that some of them are injured.

“And I know, part of the football business is now getting nervous. We are not. But this is not a good situation, I don’t like it at all. We have to see how we react to that, but for sure, not panicking.”

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