Liverpool Transfer Rumors 2018: Reds Not Targeting Riyad Mahrez as Philippe Coutinho's Replacement
Liverpool might not be interested in signing Riyad Mahrez after all.
The Leicester City winger has been linked to a potential move to Anfield after Liverpool agreed to ship Philippe Coutinho to Barcelona for €160 million (£142 million), and reports have even claimed that Mahrez was scheduled to undergo a medical checkup this past Sunday before the Reds finalize the deal.
However, that turned out to be false information, with one of Mahrez's representatives telling sports journalist Gary Al-Smith that Liverpool have not approached them.
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"Just spoken to a member of Mahrez's team. Says there has been no official contact from Liverpool. Says Riyad will only leave LCFC for a very considerable fee," Al-Smith said.
Interestingly, Al-Smith also mentioned that Mahrez's team has hinted that Reds manager Jürgen Klopp was lining up someone else as Coutinho's replacement.
Thomas Lemar has been linked to Liverpool recently, but Monaco are reluctant to part ways with him in January. That means the Reds may have to wait until the offseason to make a move.
Meanwhile, the Telegraph's Chris Bascombe has speculated that perhaps Liverpool may make an attempt to bring RB Leipzig midfielder Naby Keïta to Anfield this month.
"At this stage that still looks unlikely — Liverpool are respectful of the German club's stance given the professional way negotiations proceeded in the summer — but given the Merseysiders' significantly-swelled kitty, they are in a strong financial position to make another tempting offer. Keita would rather join Liverpool this month, Leipzig now out of this season's Champions League," Bascombe wrote in his report.
It's interesting to note that Leipzig are also looking to qualify for the Champions League next season, so they are unlikely to allow one of their top players to leave in the middle of the season.
Well, the good news is that Liverpool have several in-house options who can fill the role left by Coutinho, so they don't have to resort to panic buying before the end of the January transfer window.
