Liverpool Reportedly Seal Piotr Zielinski Deal

According to reports from Poland’s Canal Plus, Liverpool have sealed a £9M deal with Udinese to bring the 21-year-old midfielder Piotr Zielinski to Anfield this summer. Personal terms have also reportedly been agreed, and as a result they expect the transfer to be announced before the end of the week.

Zielinski has been linked with a Liverpool move for the past few months, and the player himself has made no secret of his desire to work with Jürgen Klopp at Anfield, making clear he’s a fan of both the club and its new manager. For one thing, the young midfielder has already been pictured wearing a Liverpool shirt.

A suggestion that the deal could be announced on Wednesday, though, may cause some to question the accuracy of the report. After all, Liverpool will be facing off against Sevilla in the Europa League final on Wednesday, making for a rather odd bit of timing if the clubs really do intend to announce Zielinski’s move then.

The young midfielder has already made 13 appearances for the Polish national team and has been named to the squad for this summer’s Euros. Serie A side Udinese bought the player from Lubin in the Polish league for a mere €100k in 2011, when he was just 16 years of age. He spent the past season on loan with Empoli.

While at Empoli—who finished the season 10th while Udinese were 17th and avoided relegation by a point—Zielinski made 36 appearances, scoring five goals and adding six assists. He’s a box-to-box player who would compete for minutes with Emre Can, Jordan Henderson, and fellow incoming signing Marko Grujic.

With James Milner also able to fill in at the base of midfield in Jürgen Klopp’s preferred 4-2-3-1, it could signal the end for Joe Allen. Lucas Leiva could also see his place in the squad jeopardised by the arrival or Zielinski and Grujic, though an ability to fill in at centre half could work in the veteran Brazilian’s favour.