Liverpool prepare to raid European giants for £18m star West Ham were desperate to sign
Bayer Leverkusen defender Odilon Kossounou battles with Tammy Abraham of Roma
Liverpool are reportedly considering a move for Bayer Leverkusen defender Odilon Kossounou, who West Ham tried and failed to sign this summer.
Jurgen Klopp is keen on bringing in a new centre-back but was unable to do so before the transfer window slammed shut on Friday.
This leaves the manager with Ibrahima Konate, Virgil van Dijk, Joe Gomez and Joel Matip as his centre-back options, while Nathaniel Phillips and Rhys Williams have both been loaned out.
Any remaining business Klopp wants to do will have to wait until January, but Liverpool are seemingly already preparing to make an approach for Kossounou in the winter window.
The 22-year-old is considered to be one of the best young defenders in the Bundesliga. made 24 league appearances for Leverkusen last season, helping his team to eight clean sheets.
Kossounou has also got off to a flying start this term, helping the German side to three wins in three so far.
As mentioned, West Ham attempted to sign Kossounou this summer but ultimately had to settle for Konstantinos Mavropanos instead.
Arsenal have been linked with the Leverkusen star in the past, too, so there is certainly no shortage of interest in his signature.
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Liverpool keep an eye on Kossounou
According to the Sun, Liverpool are considering a January move for Kossounou after he failed to secure a switch to West Ham.
The report claims that the Ivory Coast international would ‘jump at a move to Merseyside.’
Kossounou is under contract at Leverkusen until 2026 and the German club are unlikely to let him go cheaply given the amount of interest from the Premier League.
The Sun do not state how much Liverpool would have to pay to sign Kossounou. Transfermarkt value him at approximately £18m, though, so it’s likely a bid in that region would be required from the Reds.
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