Teun Koopmeiners, a midfielder for Atalanta who is apparently on the Reds’ radar, has been told what it will take to sign with the team this summer.
There has been persistent conjecture that Liverpool may revisit the market for a “number six” acquisition this year, even though the club underwent a midfield renovation last summer with the arrival of Alexis Mac Allister, Dominik Szoboszlai, Wataru Endo, and Ryan Gravenberch for a total of £145 million.
Andre Trindade of Fluminense was often mentioned as a possible target before January, but that rumour has since fizzled out. The names that have been linked most recently are Alan Varela of Porto and Joshua Kimmich of Bayern Munich.
Koopmeiners of Atalanta is another player the Reds are reportedly considering; according to one story, the Premier League leaders were prepared to make a £4 million approach for the 25-year-old.
The 20-cap Netherlands international is a flexible midfielder who can play box-to-box or in a holding midfield position. This season, he has contributed 11 goals from midfield.
Virgil van Dijk, the captain of Liverpool, will also be familiar with Koopmeiners from his time on the national squad, as will Gravenberch and Cody Gakpo, two other Reds.
But as La Dea looks to qualify for Europe in the second half of the season, Tutto Atalanta claims that his employers will only consider bids of €60–65 million (£51.5–55 million). The midfield player is still ‘non-transferable’ in January.
Apart from Liverpool, Koopmeiners is reportedly being pursued by Juventus and Napoli, with earlier reports mentioning Newcastle as well.
I Recognised the Links.
Koopmeiners, who has a deal with Bergamo that runs through 2027, addressed the rumours of a move to Anfield earlier this month. He said, “I saw the links and stories about Liverpool—nice to see that but I’m 100% focused on Atalanta, I’m so happy to play here.”
The statement “There’s nothing concrete with Liverpool: we welcome the interest, but he’s one of our players” was made by sporting director Tony D’Amico to Sky Sport Italia in the meantime. Gian Piero Gasperini, the head coach, has declared in the past that “Koopmeiners won’t move in January.”
In other news, Liverpool has been keeping an eye on Morten Frendrup, a Danish international midfielder for Genoa, as they evaluate defensive midfield possibilities in advance of the summer. Anfield Watch was first to publish this.