Liverpool will add £75m Man United transfer target to Arne Slot squad if January move completed

Liverpool are reportedly interested in signing Brighton midfielder Carlos Baleba in the January transfer window

Liverpool are seemingly putting plans in place for the January transfer window with rumours linking them with a move for Brighton star Carlos Baleba. It was a busy summer at Anfield with eight new signings being added as part of an overhaul that cost more than £400 million.

Head coach Arne Slot brought brought Florian Wirtz, Alexander Isak, Milos Kerkez, Jeremie Frimpong, Giorgi Mamardashvili, Giovanni Leoni, Armin Pecsi and Freddie Woodman to Liverpool this summer. Now, fresh reports are already providing rumours about who the reigning Premier League champions could target next.

Baleba’s future was the subject of speculation earlier in the summer with the midfielder heavily linked with a move to Manchester United.

There have even been suggestions that Brighton could demand a fee in excess of £100m for Baleba’s signature should any club express a genuine interest, reports the Liverpool Echo.

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Indykaila has now reported that Liverpool may pursue a deal for for Baleba in January, with the same source previously cited by The Athletic’s David Ornstein regarding Man United’s interest earlier in the summer.

It remains to be seen if the reported interest is true, and the Reds may have their own valuation for Baleba if they do decide to approach Brighton for a deal in the New Year.

The CIES Football Observatory have run the numbers and placed their own valuation on Baleba in the current market. Indeed, the website estimates that the Brighton star is worth between €75m (£65m) and €87m (£75m).

Liverpool were not heavily linked with signing a midfielder in the summer and instead chose to prioritise strengthening their defence in the final hours of the transfer window.

Crystal Palace star Marc Guehi was a target and a deal was agreed between both clubs before the move fell through at the eleventh hour.

“I think it would be ridiculous if I’m going to deny we were close to signing him,” Reds boss Slot said of his side’s attempts to sign Guehi. “That is so out in the open that that would be ridiculous.

“These things happen in football, it happened to our players maybe in the past as well that they thought they were so close to signing somewhere else and then in the last moment, things change. This can happen.

“For me, we would like to sign him of course, because we were in for him. Like I have said many times, if we feel we can strengthen the team with a chance in the market, we never hesitated to do so and that’s what we tried to do.”

Slot added: “It’s a pity but not only for us, but also for the player I think. But he’s in a good place, playing at Palace where he won the Community Shield and the FA Cup with a very good manager as well.”

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