Arne Slot 'not completely convinced' by Liverpool duo & is interested in star he previously signed
Liverpool are looking at a player who Arne Slot previously managed at Feyenoord.
Liverpool have signed off on two significant player sales this summer, with both Fabio Carvalho and Sepp van den Berg signing for Premier League rivals Brentford. The former Anfield fringe players have both joined the Bees on five-year deals each, seeing the Reds pocket a combined £52.5 million.
The real focus though, is on who Liverpool might bring in before the transfer window closes later this week. There has been a lot of speculation over who the Reds will sign for Arne Slot’s first season, if anyone at all. Despite their lack of action so far this year, rumours and talks are continuing as strengthening ranks is not yet totally out of the equation.
Signing a new midfielder had reportedly been Liverpool’s priority this window but a recent report from Football Insider claimed that Slot and co are happy to wait until January. After talks with top target Martín Zubimendi fell through, it was reported by a number of outlets that Liverpool would not be pursuing a replacement holding midfielder.
However, new links have sparked up and according to TEAMtalk, the Reds are monitoring Quinten Timber, the twin brother of Arsenal defender Jurrien Timber. The report claims that Slot sees his current squad as capable of competing at the very top alongside the Gunners and Manchester City, but the notion of signing a last-minute new midfielder ‘cannot be ruled out’.
The Dutch manager reportedly ‘isn’t completely convinced’ by Curtis Jones and Wataru Endō, and is therefore looking for sign some competition for the midfield duo. Timber is one of the players the Reds are ‘interested in’, along with Manu Koné, but they reportedly face competition from AC Milan for both of these targets.
Teun Koopmeiners remains another name on the shortlist and he is ‘greatly admired’ by the club, but this is a connection unlikely to come to fruition. Juventus are also heavily linked with the Atalanta midfielder and he ‘only wants’ to join the Serie A side, with no other options, including the Reds, deemed suitable by him.
Timber is a player who Slot will be familiar with, having coached him during his time at Feyenoord. He had been linked with a move to Arsenal to join his brother, which is something Slot also backed.
“He is a special player. He has the strength and speed to create an overload in midfield. I think he has a very good mentality and is a good lad. [Quinten and Jurrien] are both very, very good. I don't think it is ruled out that Quinten could also go to a club of [Arsenal's] calibre,” he told ZiggoSport, via the Liverpool Echo. Slot and Feyenoord welcomed Quinten Timber to the club in 2022 for a then club record fee of €10 million (£8.4m).