Liverpool have reportedly not thrown in the towel on their pursuit of Atalanta BC midfielder Teun Koopmeiners and are still hopeful of beating Juventus to the Dutchman.
The Reds are gearing up to meet Brentford in gameweek two of the Premier League season having not made a single new signing this summer, unlike all other 19 teams in the English top flight.
The sales of Sepp van den Berg and Fabio Carvalho to Brentford have generated almost £50m in income, while Thiago Alcantara and Joel Matip's exits have also freed up a good chunk of the wage bill.
However, the contract situations of key trio Virgil van Dijk, Mohamed Salah and Trent Alexander-Arnold - all of whom could leave for free in 2025 - are taking priority for new sporting director Richard Hughes.
It has not been for a lack of trying in the transfer market, though, as Liverpool were pushing to sign Martin Zubimendi from Real Sociedad, only for the Spaniard to snub the Reds in favour of staying with his current club.
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Liverpool Koopmeiners pursuit to go down to the wire?
Instead, the Reds are now trying to conclude a deal to sign Valencia goalkeeper Giorgi Mamardashvili, as Ryan Gravenberch bids to ignite his Liverpool career in the number six position.
The Merseyside giants are still thought to be open to the right opportunity in the engine room, though, and TEAMTalk claims that they have not given up on trying to lure Koopmeiners to Anfield.
The Netherlands international has been frozen out of the Atalanta squad on account of his desire to leave, and Liverpool have long been regarded as one of the favourites to prise him away from the Europa League winners.
Arne Slot is familiar with Koopmeiners from their time together at AZ Alkmaar, where the midfielder rose to prominence and earned a €14m (£11.9m) move to Atalanta in the summer of 2021.
The 26-year-old has since excelled in both a defensive and attacking role while donning the black and blue shirt, registering 29 goals and 15 assists in 129 matches and winning last year's Europa League, and his contract does not expire until 2027.
Juventus 'agree terms' with Koopmeiners amid Liverpool interest
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However, as his desire to leave is an open secret, Gian Piero Gasperini has ostracised him from the Atalanta ranks, and for the past few weeks, Juventus have positioned themselves at the head of the queue.
The Bianconeri have apparently agreed personal terms with Koopmeiners, but Atalanta's €60m (£50.9m) asking price is proving to be an issue, as they want to spread the cost over a number of years.
Atalanta reportedly have no interest in agreeing to such a payment structure, and the Italian giants would also prefer to sell Koopmeiners to a foreign side rather than a direct Serie A rival.
As a result, Liverpool remain in the conversation and have reportedly asked for 'new information' about the latest developments before deciding whether to press ahead with the hijack.
Ben Knapton
