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Liverpool's pursuit of Alberto Moreno has taken up most of the summer, but reports tonight suggest that the club might finally be close to finalizing a deal that would bring the 21-year-old to Merseyside from Sevilla. This news comes alongside speculation that Ian Ayre's travels to Spain will first see him tie up a loan move for Atletico Madrid's 20-year-old right-back Javier Manquillo; as reported last week, the club are hopefully of making the temporary move a permanent one once the terms of the loan are up, ultimately giving Liverpool two of Spain's more promising fullbacks.
This comes as positive news in both cases, but particularly so with Moreno, who had been monitored closely over the past two months. Disagreements about the valuation--Sevilla wanted closer to £20m, with Liverpool standing firm at £16m--pushed the deal off, and there was also talk that there was a desire from player, club, or both to have him around to face Real Madrid in the Spanish Supercopa. Whatever the case, renewed reports of a deal are welcome, and hopefully they hold true this time.
In the case of Manquillo it's still complicated, but Liverpool are apparently confident at their chances of having him on-board permanently in the next few seasons, and he could combine with Moreno to solve Liverpool's fullback positions for years to come. Their arrivals would cast doubts over the longer-term futures of Jose Enrique and Glen Johnson, and bring further competition for places with the likes of Jon Flanagan, Jack Robinson, and Martin Kelly.
Ideally there's some sort of positive resolution coming in the next few days on both fronts, with Liverpool set to return to Merseyside by next weekend at the latest. From there it's a two-week sprint to get prepared for Southampton's visit, which could feature a defensive unit with at least a couple of new faces in the starting eleven.
