Rumour Mongering: Better Call Saul

Do Liverpool actually want Saúl Ñíguez?

I honestly have no idea.

The club at this point get very tight lipped about potential signings. Almost nothing comes out of Merseyside. And there hasn’t been a word about Saúl. Which, at this point, means essentially nothing.

But the whispers continue.

Tom Hopkinson of The Mirror reports that Liverpool are keen on signing the player, though Manchester United are in the strongest position to get the deal done.

“Sources close to the player say has no desire for his future to still be up in the air by the middle of August when England and Spain’s top flights both kick-off”, Hopkinson claims

“Midfielder Saul’s buyout clause at Atletico Madrid is around £125million but the current La Liga champions know they will get nowhere near that figure in the current market.”

Look, I’m feeling punchy, so I’ll say it: I expect Liverpool to sign a central midfielder before the window closes. I have no sources whatsoever, but it seems that’s the way the wind is blowing. It might well be Saúl. It might be Houssem Aouar. It might be someone completely random we’ve heard nothing about (a la Diogo Jota).

But I think it will happen. The club’s being really tight lipped about this again, but it’s the obvious area of need. I don’t think another forward will be brought in, but this feels likely to happen.

Saúl would make a degree of sense stylistically, but it really could be anyone. Watch this space.