Liverpool are taking a “serious look” at signing Djed Spence from Tottenham Hotspur this summer but will need to dig deep to finance a move, while a transfer insider has also provided an update on Andoni Iraola’s plans to sign a new centre-half.
The Reds are preparing for a bright new era under Iraola after a turbulent final season at the helm for Arne Slot. With the Merseyside giants’ Premier League title crown weighing heavy and with the club beset by a significant drop in performances across the squad, Liverpool laboured their way to a fifth-placed finish – form which resulted in Slot getting the boot.
However, in order to bring his side back into trophy contention, it has become abundantly clear that the Reds’ squad needs major surgery, with several key positions in need of strengthening.
One area of particular weakness is in the full-back positions, with the squad lacking serious quality on the right ever since Trent Alexander-Arnold departed as a free agent for Real Madrid.
And while Milos Kerkez began to find his feet at left-back, the departure of Andy Robertson leaves him without a viable challenge for his place in the side.
That is why a move for Spurs star Spence ticks plenty of boxes. The versatile star showcased his talents as one of England’s stand-out performers at the World Cup, performing well whenever called upon by Thomas Tuchel.
As TEAMtalk exclusively revealed earlier this month, Tottenham are very much open to the full-back’s sale and, knowing this summer represents a real chance to maximise his value, sources revealed Inter Milan are currently ahead of both the Reds and Newcastle in the race.
However, journalist Dave Davis is adamant that Iraola’s side are very much keen on a deal for the 14-cap England star, despite the admission that any transfer will likely come at a premium price…
Liverpool taking a ‘serious look’ at Djed Spence transfer
Speaking on the Anfield Index YouTube channel, Davis said: “We went digging on this and Djed Spence is absolutely a player that Liverpool are looking at.”
He added: “That’s our info now. Liverpool absolutely are having a serious look at Djed Spence.”
Explaining the reasoning behind the interest, he added: “Liverpool like him for a number of reasons. Number one, he is electric quick.
“He is an excellent one-on-one defender, as you’ve also seen, and he’s an excellent carrier.”
Using stats to underline that, he added: “He’s 94th percentile for progressive carries, 96th percentile for carries into final third; he is quick, and he is an excellent one-on-one defender.”
The player’s ability to cover two positions is also of interest to the Reds, with Davis adding: “He can play right-back and left-back at the same time, which means you just wonder, you know, you sell [Kostas] Tsimikas, and then you’ve got right-back and left-back cover there in Djed Spence.”
Davis, though, feels the price could be an issue and stated: “They’re gonna want top dollar. So they should. Spurs should be asking for something like 40 million quid because he’s homegrown. He’s just had a great World Cup.”
However, he caveated that by saying: “He’s not worth that though, is he? It’s just that it’s a complicated one at right-back and centre-back for Liverpool right now.”
Nonetheless, he added: “We have to keep an eye on Djed Spence this week.”
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Davis also thinks Liverpool will try and sign a new centre-half this summer to provide cover for Virgil van Dijk and competition for Jeremy Jacques, Joe Gomez and Giovanni Leoni, though admits he does not have a name to hand.
“It’s just one to watch. There’s no hot link there. There’s nothing that’s going to definitely happen at all.”
Nonetheless, with approximately six weeks left until the transfer window closes, Davis is imploring Liverpool to pull their finger out and start adding some real quality to Iraola’s squad to give the Basque tactician a fighting chance of competing for trophies.
“The World Cup is over, so it’s time to step it up. Players need to come through the door. And players need to come through the door pretty quickly with only about six weeks or so of the transfer window left.”