Reds will bid £37m for Africa’s best player, with star forward ready to leave

Liverpool are ready to make an offer for Ademola Lookman, with a report revealing how much Arne Slot’s side are prepared to pay for him, though TEAMtalk can reveal why such an offer will not be enough.

Lookman failed to make a huge impact when he was at Everton, scoring four goals and giving two assists in 48 appearances for Liverpool’s Merseyside rivals. The winger, though, is flourishing at Atalanta, where he has scored 49 goals and given 22 assists in 108 appearances for the Serie A club and was named their player of the season for the 2022/23 and 2023/24 campaigns.

The 27-year-old helped Atalanta win the Europa League last season, scoring a hat-trick in the 3-0 win against Bayer Leverkusen in the final.

Lookman was also named the 2024 African Player of the Year at the Confederation of African Football Awards in Marrakech in December.

The Nigeria international forward has done well for Atalanta this season, scoring 17 goals and providing seven assists in 30 competitive matches, but a public fallout with his head coach Gian Piero Gasperini means that it is almost inevitable that he will leave at the end of the season.

GiveMeSport reported in December that Liverpool were among the clubs keeping tabs on Lookman despite his history with Everton, and now Fichajes has claimed that the Premier League leaders are ready to make a bid.

Liverpool have been so enamoured with the Nigerian star that they are reported to be ready to pay €45million (£37m, $47m) for him.

The Reds view the 27-year-old “as an attractive option to reinforce the competition in their attacking line”.

However, Liverpool will face competition from Premier League rivals Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur.

Fichajes has reported that both Tottenham and Chelsea are ready to offer €45million (£37m, $47m) for the forward, adding that Atalanta would prefer to sell Lookman abroad, with the star wanting to leave.

Interestingly, the Daily Mirror has also reported that Atalanta would prefer to offload the forward to a club outside Italy amid interest from Serie A giants Juventus.

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Atalanta want £54m for Ademola Lookman – sources

TEAMtalk understands that Liverpool’s offer of £37million for Lookman is very likely to fail.

Our Italian football correspondent, Rudy Galetti, reported on February 24 that Manchester United and Newcastle United are interested in Lookman.

Sources have told TEAMtalk that Paris Saint-Germain and Inter Milan are among the clubs who have shown interest in the Nigerian ace.

Atalanta are ready to sell Lookman, but the Serie A club want €65million (£53.7m, $68m) for their star man.

With such intense competition for the prized signature of Lookman, it is hard to see Liverpool being successful with an offer that is some £17million lower than their asking price.

Latest Liverpool news: Luis Enrique praise, Mo Salah boost

Liverpool will take on Paris Saint-Germain in the Round of 16 in the Champions League this month.

The first leg of the tie will be held at Parc des Princes in Paris on Wednesday, with the second leg to take place at Anfield next week.

Ahead of this week’s game, PSG head coach Luis Enrique raved about Liverpool and described them as the best team in Europe.

Enrique said: “They are the team in the best form in Europe, both in terms of results and play. It could have been a Champions League final, we will try to do it with our weapons.”

“We’re not going to change much, today was a test; Liverpool and Lille have similar things, we put them under such pressure that they could no longer play from the back, they had to play long.

“It will be different, it will be very complicated, of course, but we are in the best period of the season.

“We will play against the best team in Europe, qualified brilliantly, but it is not in our mentality to speculate, protect ourselves, stay defensive, we will attack and we will try to turn that in our favour.”

Mohamed Salah is out of contract at Liverpool at the end of the season, and it is not clear if the Egyptian forward will extend his stay at Anfield.

A French report has stated that Salah’s agent, Ramy Abbas, has not held any discussions with any other club, with the forward’s sole focus being on signing a new deal with Liverpool.

Meanwhile, former Arsenal star Paul Merson has raved about Liverpool midfielder Dominik Szoboszlai.

Merson said: “Yeah, I thought he was outstanding last season, probably one of the best signings of the season. I thought he started well, probably caught up with him towards the end of the season.

“This season, this lad, he works hard. He runs off the ball. It’s an art, running off the ball. People want to work when they’ve got the ball at their feet; people really don’t want to work when they haven’t got the ball at their feet.

“He will make runs for the team and look at the distances he covers but he’s not one of them who just runs anywhere. He’s very precise in when he makes his runs and he gets himself into good positions. I think he’s a top player, I really do.

“But some people run and around and they don’t really affect the game. He affects the game, whether it be a run taking players away for [Mohamed] Salah to get the ball… he’s a top, top player, top-drawer player.”

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