Liverpool are willing to splash £67.3million on signing Real Madrid attacker Marco Asensio this summer, according to El Desmarque.
The Spanish news outlet claims that Jurgen Klopp wants to add to his squad before the start of next season despite winning the Champions League title last month and Asensio, 23, is someone who is in his sights.
It is understood that the Spain international is viewed as a potential back-up for Mohamed Salah in case the Egyptian star was to suffer an injury over the course of the upcoming campaign.
However Real Madrid want a Liverpool player in return for Asensio if he was to head to Anfield and Sadio Mane is someone who Zinedine Zidane is interested in.
OPINION
If signing Asensio means losing Mane, then Liverpool should abandon their pursuit of the Real Madrid attack immediately. Asensio is a very good young player. He didn’t have the best of seasons last time out as he made 44 appearances, scored six goals and supplied seven assists in all competitions, but he is still someone with bags of technical ability and potential to reach. However he is not as good as Mane, who was one of Liverpool’s best players last season as they won the Champions League and achieved a record high finish in the Premier League. Snapping up Asensio as a back-up option for Salah and Mane would be a very good idea though. Liverpool could do with adding some extra strength in depth to their attack because an injury or a suspension could force Klopp into starting players that he wouldn’t normally want to in big games. Asensio might offer an extra option if something like that happens, but £67.3million is a lot of money to spend on a back-up player, so it seems unrealistic.
