Serie A leaders Atalanta have reportedly made their opening move to sign a Liverpool star who manager Arne Slot recently heaped praise on.
Liverpool transfer news
Slot is having a debut season to remember at Liverpool. The Reds are flying high at the top of the Premier League, four points ahead of Chelsea with a game in-hand, and are also top of the Champions League, having won all six of their games in the competition’s new-look group phase.
The Dutch manager, who was appointed as Jurgen Klopp’s successor in the summer, however, isn’t ready to rest on his laurels heading into the second-half of the season, and is reportedly looking to strengthen his squad after the New Year.
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Among those being touted for a potential January move to Anfield are Fulham’s American full-back Antonee Robinson, Sporting star Geovany Quenda and Real Sociedad’s Martin Zubimendi, who came close to joining the Reds in the summer.
RB Leipzig star Xavi Simons is also understood to be on Slot’s hit list. According to a new report from Sport Bild, Liverpool are one of a number of clubs interested in signing Simons, who is on loan at Leipzig from Paris Saint-Germain. The publication claims that Leipzig want to sign him permanently, but that the midfielder instead wants to play for a club that can offer him Champions League football next year.
Atalanta make first move for Liverpool’s Federico Chiesa
As much as there could be players inbound to Anfield in January, there are others that could leave. One of those is Federico Chiesa, who L’Eco di Bergamo, as relayed by Sports Witness, report is a target for Serie A leaders Atalanta.
According to the Italian newspaper, Atalanta have made an “exploratory survey” which states that Chiesa has a desire for redemption after a difficult start to his career at Liverpool.
Due to injury problems and the good form of Liverpool’s other attacking talents, the Italy international has barely featured for the Reds since moving for £12.5m in the summer, playing just 18 minutes of football in the top flight.
L’Eco di Bergamo report that Atalanta, while yet to make contact with Liverpool or the player, could offer an initial loan deal with the option to buy in the summer, though a stumbling block may well be his wages, on which they would have to reach a resolution with the Merseyside club.
While Chiesa’s life at Liverpool has so far been difficult, he was recently praised by Slot after he came off the bench in a 2-1 win against Southampton in the Carabao Cup.
“I saw some really good moments and I saw some moments where I felt like, ‘OK, you can do better than this. For me, that’s completely normal if a player has been out for so long and plays his first game in five or six months.”
“It’s good to see that he’s back and that he had a few good moments in the game.”
