Liverpool 'set for talks' with £51m Man United target with 'plan to hijack' Inter Milan bargain

Liverpool will be busy looking ahead to next season after the conclusion of their Premier League campaign.

The Reds will now bid farewell to Jurgen Klopp after the 2023/24 season officially drew to a close. Klopp leaves Anfield after nearly nine years as manager, with a new era set to dawn on Merseyside.

Arne Slot is expected to be the next Liverpool manager and replace Klopp in the Anfield hotseat. As a result, Slot will be tasked with helping oversee the summer transfer window

With the season officially over for Liverpool, rumours are already starting to swirl around potential transfer business this summer. The Reds are being credited with an interest in a potential new defender and midfielder.

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Reports are claiming that Liverpool are interested in signing Bayer Leverkusen defender Odilon Kossounou. According to Caught Offside, the Reds are getting ready to open talks to sign the centre-back this summer.

It has been claimed that Liverpool would need to pay €60 million (£51 million) to sign Kossounou ahead of next season.

Liverpool will reportedly have to battle Manchester United, Tottenham Hotspur, Real Madrid and Bayern Munich for Kossounou's signature. The defender helped Leverkusen win the Bundesliga title this season and reach the Europa League and DFB Pokal finals.

Elsewhere, Liverpool appear to have fresh competition for the signature of Nice midfielder Khephren Thuram. The Reds have been heavily linked with a move for Thuram ever since last summer, with the links re-emerging earlier this month.

According to Italian news outlet Corriere dello Sport, via TuttomercatoWeb, Inter Milan have formed a plan to sign Thuram and beat Liverpool to his signature in the process. It has been reported that the Serie A club are planning to sign Thuram on a free transfer in 2025 when his contract at Nice expires.

Reports from France that Thuram could still leave Nice this summer, with suggestions that Liverpool could be in the running. Local French news outlet Nice-Matin claimed that Nice could seek just £13 million to let Thuram leave the club this summer as he nears the final 12 months of his contract.