Liverpool and Manchester United are both keen on signing Atletico Madrid midfielder Marcos Llorente this summer.
Llorente came thɾօυɢҺ the Real Madrid academy but made just 39 appearances for Los Blancos before moving to Atletico Madrid for€30m in the summer of 2019.
He’s since become a key player for Diego Simeone’s side, with his versatility a particularly notable asset.
He’s played as a defensive midfielder, central midfielder, second striker, winger, wing-back and full-back in his time with Atletico, and has racked up 18 caps for Spain.
Llorent’s best season, in 2020/21, saw him operate predominantly as a second striker and notch 12 goals and 11 assists in La Liga, but as aFichajesɾєρօɾτ points out, the 28-year-old’s performance levels have ‘clearly gone down in recent times, after he was forced to retreat his position on the field’.
It would perhaps be more sensible to play Llorente in his best position rather than getting rid but it’s claimed Simeone is willing to see the back of him as his sale would help Atletico ‘to solve part of its economic difficulties’. His ‘farewell is anticipated’.
Any interested party would have to stump up€60m though, which is signifcantly more than he’s worth according toTransfermarkt, who value Llorente at just €35m.
ButFichajesclaim both Liverpool and Man Utd are willing to pay ‘large amounts of money’ to land Llorente.
How United in particular will be able to pay this significant sum is a mystery given the widespread ɾєρօɾτs of Erik ten Hag having just £120m to play with and needing more than that after £55m went on Mason Mount to sign both Andre Onana from Inter and Rasmus Hojlund from Atalanta.
Llorente certainly wouldn’t be a priority for Ten Hag; probably not for Jurgen Klopp either.
Liverpool have already signed Alexis Mac Allister and Dominik Szoboszlai to bolster their midfield options, and are said to be targeting Romeo Lavia as their preferred defensive midfield signing.
The German boss may well be attracted by Llorente’s versatility though, as he would provide cover for Trent Alexander-Arnold andMohamed Salah, which could be crucial this season.
