Liverpool open talks to sign £54m “monster”

Liverpool are biding their time in the transfer market. FSG have already overseen the £34.5m signing of Victor Munoz from Osasuna, but the pursuit of further forwards is an open secret.

Well, perhaps it’s even more overt than that: with Mohamed Salah no longer a Liverpool player, the 2024/25 Premier League champions have something of a vacuum out on the right wing. Given their struggles last season, replacing him effectively is crucial.

Now that Andoni Iraola has replaced Arne Slot, Liverpool and FSG need to complete the much-needed rebuild with much-needed precision.

Porous in defence and limited in attack, Liverpool finished fifth, narrowly ahead of Iraola’s Bournemouth, and Munoz alone will not fire them back into the ascendancy.

They need midfielders (but are biding their time there) and they need a new forward or two, and that has been heightened by the recent revelations regarding RB Leipzig’s Yan Diomande.

How Liverpool plan to overcome Diomande blow

Diomande would have cost a pretty penny this summer, but the fact that Liverpool were willing to spend outlines an ambition on FSG’s part that could see a significant sum redirected to another target.

While sporting director Richard Hughes is working his way through an extended list of targets before taking a pretty pay packet with Al Hilal after the window, it does look like Paris Saint-Germain’s Bradley Barcola is the dream.

However, with Arsenal also in hot pursuit, the Reds may turn to yet another fallback, with recent reports outlining interest in one of Chelsea’s main men.

According to journalist Dave Davis, Chelsea’s Pedro Neto has emerged as an option for Liverpool this summer, with the Portugal international even believed to have been the subject of talks between the two Premier League outfits.

Not only has Davis said that signing a winger is a “priority” for the Merseysiders this summer, but he has indeed confirmed that talks have been held with super-agent Jorge Mendes, while noting that “Neto would jump” at the chance to join Liverpool in a big-money move this summer.

A transfer fee has not yet been mooted. This is early-stage interest, after all. However, Chelsea paid £54m to bring the 26-year-old over from Wolves in 2024, so would want a similar figure, if not more.

Why Neto can be Liverpool’s own Barcola

Neto might not be quite as talented as Barcola – his stock and valuation is not so high – but he has plenty of Premier League experience under his belt, with a creative focus that could bear dividends for Liverpool as they fight to restore attacking balance under Iraola’s management.

A dynamic and versatile winger, Neto would not pack the same punch as Barcola in Iraola’s Liverpool attack, but he could actually prove far more useful.

Assessing the pros and cons, it’s clear that the Reds would not land quite so venomous a direct threat, but instead bring an innately creative outlet to Anfield.

Indeed, Neto offers a different kind of threat. He places far more emphasis on his crossing, and maybe that would work in Liverpool’s favour, signing a player who would service Alexander Isak and Hugo Ekitike (when the latter returns from injury) with crosses and passes, utilising his fleet-footedness to stretch and split lines.

He started each of Portugal’s three group stage fixtures at the World Cup, and while Neto hasn’t always fired on all cylinders in a Chelsea shirt, he is a “pace monster“, according to analyst and Como scout Ben Mattinson, who will rework Liverpool’s attacking system.

He can come from the left and he can come from the right. Neto has been there and done that, and while the 23-year-old Barcola’s ceiling is probably higher, this wonderful Iberian attacker might actually have the tools to provide a very effective presence in Iraola’s high-intensity system.

He might just be the attacking signing that Liverpool have been searching for.