Roberto De Zerbi is hunting Liverpool's Cody Gakpo, but the Reds currently have no interest in selling to their domestic rivals.
De Zerbi teased the fanbase with "bomba" chatter last week, although plenty of the fanbase have called the Italian's bluff. There is no imminent arrival, and the manager's public revelation was most likely an attempt to pressure the hierarchy into hastening the pursuit of our attacking targets.
We know that Savinho remains a priority, and the Manchester City winger is seemingly desperate to end up in De Zerbi's hands. However, he's currently away on tour with the Cityzens, who are dragging out the saga.
Spurs have also been linked with the likes of Rafael Leão, Antonio Nusa and Omar Marmoush this summer, but it seems as if Gakpo has jumped to the top of the list of forward targets, in addition to Savinho.
The Dutchman may be a rather uninspiring option on the surface, but he'd certainly represent an upgrade on De Zerbi's current options despite Mathys Tel's bright preseason so far.
'Huge sum' needed for Spurs to convince Liverpool to sell Gakpo
After it became clear over the weekend that Spurs were going to move for Gakpo, Fabrizio Romano reported on Monday morning that talks with the player's representatives will enter "key stages soon."
If we are to give ourselves the best possible chance of signing the Premier League champion for a reasonable fee, agreeing to personal terms with the player is the best way to go about it. We'd at least have some leverage in negotiations with Liverpool.
As it stands, the Reds don't want to sell to us. The Daily Mail's Simon Jones understands that it'd take a "huge sum" for the Merseysiders to change their stance.
Liverpool have already lost Mohamed Salah this summer, and Hugo Ekitiké is likely to miss the rest of the year with an Achilles injury. They've signed VÃctor Muñoz from Osasuna and are attempting to pull off a huge deal for Paris Saint-Germain's Bradley Barcola.
If Barcola does join, perhaps that'd render them more open to selling Gakpo.
In truth, I've never been a massive fan of the 27-year-old, but appreciate that he could kill two birds with one stone. I think I prefer him as a centre-forward, rather than a rigid left-winger who's often far too predictable one-on-one.
It's clear, though, that this is a De Zerbi-led signing. The Italian recently called himself a "shark" in the transfer market when he gets attached to a player he likes, but Liverpool are bound to test De Zerbi's predatory instincts.
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