Rumour Mongering: Manu Koné Contenders Emerge

With the players having gone on holiday — or joined their national sides for Nations League duty — the significant signing of Alexis Mac Allister last week has been followed by a whole lot of silence, as there are no regular press conferences during which reporters can bother Jürgen Klopp with questions he won’t answer.

As such, it is left entirely up to the rumour mongers to fill the vacuum, and, while the Federico Valverde shout was a hilarious one, creativity has been lacking, with the lack of confirmation regarding talks taking place and the like, outlets have largely settled on recycling what had seemed like fairly solid links last week.

No Kouadio Koné or Khephrén Thuram has materialised on Merseyside, so now, we get to hear about the alleged competition Liverpool will face for the signature of the former, as the Daily Mail claim Aston Villa and Wolverhampton are circling the Borussia Mönchengladbach player.

Reportedly a prime candidate for sale this summer, alongside former Reds target Florian Neuhaus, Koné could be available for as little as £30m as die Fohlen look to balance the books, and the Frenchman should be able to step into a starting role for any of the three clubs in question as things currently stand.

Young, affordable and versatile, Koné offers an intriguing package and may very well be the next man to pick out his kit number at Melwood, but those qualities are highly rated elsewhere as well, and it wouldn’t be surprising if the player goes elsewhere should the Reds decide to dither.