Liverpool interest in Juventus wonderkid is 'real' – price tag named

Liverpool's interest in Juventus starlet Kenen Yildiz is 'real', according to one report.

Links between Liverpool and the 18-year-old Turkey international emerged from Italy last week, when it was claimed that the Reds were among a number of teams watching the attacking midfielder.

Now Calciomercato claims that the young forward is dissatisfied with his role in Turin, having only featured in 36 minutes of game time in Serie A in 2023/24.

The German-born player is said to be 'frustrated' at his lack of minutes, as he eyes a place in Turkey's squad for next summer's Euro 2024 tournament.

Yildiz, who has three caps to date, scored his first senior goal for Turkey in a 3-2 win over Germany last month.

The reports adds that 'market sirens are going crazy' ahead of the January window, while interest from Liverpool is 'real' – though they are far from the only suitors, with Arsenal, Dortmund and Leipzig also named.

While Juventus are keen to keep hold of the rising star, whose contract runs until 2027, it is claimed that if a serious offer came along the club would take it into consideration.

Calciomercato claims the figure that would turn Juve heads is between €30-40m (£26m-34m).

Whether Liverpool would be willing to stump up that amount for such an inexperienced player mid-season appears unlikely.

With defensive fitness issues mounting and the backline known to be a priority area for the recruitment team in 2024, a new centre back could be a more likely arrival at Anfield next month. However, Jurgen Klopp recently played down talk of imminent signings, despite defender Joel Matip's season-ending injury.

“In eight years here, I just never understand this. You always talk about transfers as if they would be the easiest thing in the world,” he told reporters. "Just bring in a player, find the money for it, as if we have endless money. I really don’t understand it. Everybody, you, the fans, everyone talks about it.

“They all cost money. It has to be the right player. Tell me a club who wants to sell a top, top centre-half who could play for Liverpool? Why should we start that process? We’ve only known for a few days that Joel will be out for a long time, which is really bad for us. We still have four centre-halves which is absolutely alright.