Rumour Mongering: Boots of Spanish Leather for Luis Alberto and Tiago Ilori

Having recently put an end to a fourteen-match winless run with a 2-1 victory over basement dwellers Levante, Deportivo de La Coruña now appear much more likely to be playing top flight football in Spain next year.  No surprise then, that thoughts at Deportivo are now turning towards the summer and strengthening the squad for next year's campaign.  According to AS, those plans include a couple of names with which Liverpool supporters are quite familiar.

Luis Alberto, presently at Deportivo on loan from Liverpool, struggled to gain traction with the first team during Brendan Rodgers' tenure, but has managed to make a stronger impression during his time at the Estadio Riazor. With six goals and five assists in la Liga during his loan spell, the midfielder has emerged as an effective partner for Lucas Perez, and Deportivo are reportedly eager to either extend the sojourn another year or make the relationship a permanent one.

Unlike some other prominent Liverpool loanees this season, Luis Alberto hasn't quite elicited a great deal of public commentary from Jürgen Klopp, so it is difficult to tell if the uptick in his form while at Deportivo will earn the midfielder a closer look from the Liverpool manager.  What does seem clear, given purported interest from other parties in Spain, notably Valencia, is that if Liverpool do decide to sell, they are in a better position to recoup value than when Luis Alberto was languishing at Málaga.

If the reports from AS are correct, Luis Alberto might not be the only Liverpool player to join Deportivo over the summer.  Tiago Ilori, who was recalled from a loan spell at Aston Villa just this past January, is reportedly also the subject of interest.  Despite demonstrating, in a few cup appearances, glimpses of the athletic ability that garnered Liverpool's interest in the first place, the centreback continues to be on the periphery of Klopp's plans.  With at least one high profile summer reinforcement at his position arriving in the form of Joël Matip, the window for Ilori to stake a claim to first team football next season may be rapidly closing.

The extent to which Liverpool will be able to extract value from parting with Ilori is a somewhat bigger question, given the underwhelming nature of his temporary assignments with Granada, Bordeaux and most recently Aston Villa, where he was notoriously underused. If there is to be a major overhaul in the Liverpool squad over the summer, supporters should expect both Alberto and Ilori to feature prominently in "should-he-stay-or-should-he-go" conversations.