Another first-team Liverpool player will depart, taking the summer exodus to nine for Jurgen Klopp.

Another first-team Liverpool player will depart, taking the summer exodus to nine for Jurgen Klopp.

Liverpool midfielder Thiago Alcantara is considering a return to his native Spain as several La Liga clubs have been told he is set to leave Anfield

Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp could be on the verge of missing out on another Kop star with Spain international Thiago Alcantara closing in on the exit door.

The 32-year-old is considering a return to his native Spain now that a number of La Liga clubs have been informed that he is ready to leave Anfield. He has just 12 months left on his current contract, a situation similar to what happened in the summer of 2020 when he left Bayern Munich for Merseyside on a reduced £20m fee.

The Spain international has become a firm favorite with Liverpool fans, although injuries saw him make just 18 Premier League appearances last season. But just as is the case with skipper Jordan Henderson and Brazilian international Fabinho both leaving for Saudi Arabia, Klopp also ideally doesn’t want to lose Thiago. However, Klopp has never held a player against his will and if Thiago forces a move, Klopp will reluctantly step aside. However, he will accelerate Liverpool’s push to sign Alexis Mac Allister and Dominik Szoboszlai in midfield.

Liverpool have objected to the £70m price tag Crystal Palace have put on Cheick Doucoure, while Real Madrid have insisted another Anfield target, Aurelien Tchouameni, is not for sale.

Klopp is also interested in Bayern Munich’s Ryan Gravenberch, Southampton’s Romeo Lavia and Fiorentina’s Sofyan Amrabat, while Manchester City’s Kalvin Phillips has been mentioned. With Thiago also ready for the exit door, the need to bring in new signings has reached a critical level. Jurgen Klopp had momentum in his stride after the quick signings of midfield stars Alexis Mac Allister and Dominik Szoboszlai. World champion Mac Allister and Hungary captain Szoboszlai were brought to Merseyside for less than £100million and when they had ample time to fit the duo into the pre-season program the Liverpool manager, who was still suffering from last season’s failure to qualify for the Champions League, looked like heaven.

Hoping to bring another top player into the engine room at Anfield, it appeared the departures of Roberto Firmino, James Milner, Naby Keita and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain would be more than made up for.

A fresh start with younger energy and savvy to support a forward squad in the form of Mo Salah, Darwin Nunez, Luis Diaz, Diogo Jota and Cody Gakpo ensured The Kop were ready to start the season now.

Klopp would have overcome his depression well by the end of the season. His beaming smile had returned to the training ground and after winning his battle with Anfield’s bean counters in a series of downsized friendlies rather than running through the air with matches around the world, the dice were cast for a fresh campaign.

But then came the Saudi Arabia factor, which suddenly put a damper on Liverpool as the team left for their training camp in Germany, which included a few friendlies.

Fabinho, who made 53 appearances for Liverpool and Brazil last season, was left behind on Merseyside to discuss a £40m move to join former Wolves and Spurs manager Nuno Espirito Santo at Al Ittihad. Meanwhile, skipper Jordan Henderson was involved in Germany despite negotiations over a £700,000-a-week move to Steven Gerrard’s Al Ettifaq underway.

Klopp’s worst fears were realised in his homeland on the eve of Wednesday’s friendly against Bundesliga II side Karlsruher when he was forced to pull his long-time captain out of the game after a £12 million transfer fee had been agreed between the two clubs.

And if Klopp didn’t now have enough distractions on the eve of an important season he was informed that Al Hilal had launched a £45 million bid for Luis Diaz. It was promptly knocked back but with the colossal salaries on offer, Diaz can’t be blamed if his head had been turned.

There are also fears within the club that Mo Salah will also be targeted by the super-rich Saudis who are rapidly proving that the Saudi Pro League isn’t just a retirement home for Premier League players approaching their sell-by date.

“You always need problems in a pre-season and it’s all about overcoming them,” he stressed. But Klopp was referring to tinkling with his formations not losing two key components of his side.

Read Next.. 

Liverpool transfer news –
Liverpool to sign Fede Valverde for €80m,
Aurelien Tchouameni claim, Jordan Henderson exit, Romeo Lavia boost

Liverpool transfer news, rumours, gossip and speculation including the latest on Aurélien Tchouameni, Kylian Mbappe, Fabinho, Romeo Lavia, Joshua Kimmich, Jordan Henderson and more

With only three weekends to go until the return of the Premier League, the Reds have a busy period ahead on the transfer front. This will be largely influenced by the potential outgoings of Fabinho and Jordan Henderson to Saudi Arabia.

In terms of incoming players, a slew of midfielders have been linked with the move to Anfield. Joshua Kimmich of Bayern Munich has emerged as a possibility after it emerged his position was not as strong as once thought. Italians Nicolo Barella and Marco Veratti have been linked to summer transfers, while developments on Romeo Lavia’s situation are expected in the coming days.

But in other news, the footballing world has been rocked by the revelation that PSG have left Kylian Mbappé out of their pre-season preparations as the Frenchman’s contract situation reaches a boiling point. The striker has been linked to Liverpool many times over the years, so if his current club wants to leave for nothing, should Jürgen Klopp take action?

Send your views to @LivEchoLFC and don’t forget to subscribe to our free Liverpool FC newsletter, our YouTube channel and listen to our Blood Red Podcast – with all your favourite ECHO regulars including Paul Gorst, Ian Doyle, Joe Rimmer, Sean Bradbury, Theo Squires, Tom Cavilla and Keifer MacDonald.

The Liverpool ECHO has launched its own WhatsApp community to bring you the very latest LFC transfer news and top stories direct to your phone. By joining our WhatsApp community, you will receive breaking news and top stories straight to your phone. All you have to do to join is click on this link, select ‘Join Community’ and you’re in. If you are using your computer, tablet or an additional phone you can use your mobile phone to join the group below. Just scan your camera over the QR code and open the link. For further information,

Liverpool could sign Fede Valverde for €80m.

According to El Nacional, Liverpool could reignite their interest in Real Madrid midfielder Fede Valverde.

Real Madrid are in the hunt for Kylian Mbappe, in what is a highly publicised saga for the PSG star. It has been claimed that the omission of the Frenchman for their tour of Japan could open the door to a move to Los Blancos.

As a result, it could pave way for Valverde to Liverpool… supposedly.

 Nacional claim Liverpool are ‘obsessed’ with the Uruguayan and could sign Valverde for €80m (£69m).

Henderson completes medical

The ECHO understands Liverpool captain Jordan Henderson has indeed completed medical testing on Friday ahead of a proposed £12 million transfer to Al Ettifaq.

Great things are coming’ – Tchouameni anticipated the new season

Aurelien Tchouameni’s personal trainer Fabrice Guatier has supported him to succeed in the 2023/24 season.

He told Diario AS: “I think he’s going to have a kind of personal endorsement, he’s going to have that mindset that he’s going to show everyone that great things are coming.

“What people need to understand is that these athletes demand more of themselves than any fan ever could. And their goals are so high that they work every day to achieve them.”

“It’s hard for me to tell you what’s going to happen, so many factors come into play, but personally I always think he’s going to be great because he’s worked hard.”

Links to Liverpool will not disappear. The Reds tried to sign him last summer, but he went to Madrid, where he lacked playing time. Whether serious interest can re-emerge remains to be seen as Jurgen Klopp has more midfielders in his sights.

Could Thomas Partey boost Liverpool’s Romeo Lavia chances?

In a possible boost for Liverpool, Thomas Partey will stay in north London after an admission from the Gunners boss.

Arsenal are said to be interested in Reds target Romeo Lavia and a departure of Partey could see their interest in the 19-year-old Belgian accelerate.

“Yes. Every time I spoke to him and had a conversation with him he’s ready to stay with us. For me, there’s nothing there at all,” Arteta said via The Telegraph.

“Thomas Partey is a super important player for us and for me and we want him to be in the team, that’s for sure.”

Dominik Szoboszlai claim

DaveOCKOP has posted a story suggesting Szoboszlai has picked up a ‘minor knock’ in Liverpool training.

With the intensity of sessions stepping up over in Germany, bumps and bruises for the players are perhaps to be expected – with the club sure to take precautions and check on anything untoward just in case.

The report claims the ‘injury is not believed to be serious and may just be a swollen ankle’, adding that Szoboszlai is set for a scan and may be absent for Monday’s friendly against Greuther Furth.

In the initial batch of training images released by the club today, Szoboszlai did not appear to be present.

Hopefully all is well and just precautionary if he has missed sessions. The Hungarian has a strong injury record in his career so far, with spells on the sidelines quite rare according to Transfermarkt records.