Liverpool is reportedly about to sign Aissa Mandi of Real Betis, whom the Reds have reportedly seen as an ideal replacement for Dejan Lovren.
After spending six years at Anfield, the 31-year-old defender, Lovren, left the club to sign for Zenit St Petersburg.
Mandi, who has only one year’s left contract with Real Betis, is expected to leave the Spanish club. He is “about” to join Jurgen Klopp this summer for $11 million, according to a report by talkPSORT, a sport specializing in moving markets.
Mandi, 28, is basically a right-back, but he can also play as a central defender and has inspired several European clubs in his stint with Real Betis, a club he joined in 2016. The talkSPORT report also revealed another one. Newcastle United is following the situation of Mandi’s move.
From now on, Virgil van Dijk, Joe Gomez and Joel Matip are in fact Klopp’s first-choice central defenders. However, Klopp may only have two if Matip leaves this summer, as Cameroon’s defence has been strangely linked to a move to Paris Saint-Germain (PSG). Even if that doesn’t happen, Gomez and Matip are prone to injury, so the addition of Mandi can give Klopp the intensity he so desperately desires on the side.
It was understood that Real Betis had originally quoted $35 million for Mandi. This value is unlikely to attract buyers, especially at the present time of the multisectoral monetary pandemic. In addition, Real Betis failed to loosen the budget after the failed transfer of the 31-year-old Moroccan defence Zouhair Feddal to Sporting Lisbon. Not to let Mandi go as an indefinite agent next summer, Real Betis accepted Liverpool’s offer of $11 million, which can be a smart deal for Premier League champions.
Liverpool, the Premier League trophy for the first time on Wednesday Photo: POOL / Laurence Griffiths
Liverpool won the 2019-20 Premier League name with seven games to lose last month. This ended his 30-year wait to win the league name, which is also his first Premier League trophy. Klopp has been praised for the team’s achievements since taking over the job in 2015. As it stands, Liverpool is lately champions of England, Europe (Champions League) and World Cup.