‘Schmadtke has an eye on him’ — Liverpool monitoring potential Fabinho replacement amid latest update

Liverpool have already signed two great new midfield additions this transfer window in Alexis Mac Allister and Dominik Szoboszlai, but amid the potential exits of both Jordan Henderson and Fabinho, the pressure is now suddenly back on.

The Reds were always looking to bolster their midfield this transfer window, however they may now have to think more tactically as they could be replacing two senior members of the team. Both Henderson and Fabinho have been heavily linked to leave Anfield and join the Saudi Pro League. Steven Gerrard’s Al-Ettifaq are keen on the Liverpool skipper, while it seems increasingly more likely that Fabinho will be joining Al-Ittihad, the new home of Karim Benzema and N’Golo Kanté.

The Brazilian has been left out of Liverpool’s pre-season squad and, according to Fabrizio Romano, talks between the two clubs have advanced, with personal terms now reportedly agreed.

Prior to these exit links, there was a high chance Fabinho would have remained Jurgen Klopp’s first choice defensive midfielder. However, now the Reds must scramble to find a replacement for him and sporting director Jörg Schmadtke has identified a potential suitor.

Christian Falk has reported via CaughtOffside that Schmadtke is monitoring Manu Koné at Mönchengladbach and Liverpool could be considering him as another transfer target for this summer, adding him to the list alongside Southampton’s Roméo Lavia.

“He [Koné] had a knee injury at the European U21 Championship, so it will take time, as he can’t pass any medical tests at the moment. So this could be a topic that will be interesting for English clubs like Liverpool,” Falk said. “Schmadtke has an eye on him. So these are things in the background that Schmadtke is doing at the moment.”

Koné is not a new name on the radar, as Liverpool have shown interest in him previously. The 22-year-old is predominantly a central midfielder but he can also operate in the No.6 role where required. Despite currently recovering from injury, he has been a regular for Mönchengladbach since joining from Toulouse in 2021.

Koné has 119 senior games under his belt so far and he averaged a solid 2.5 tackles per 90 minutes last season in the Bundesliga, which was more than any of Liverpool’s midfielders (via WhoScored).