Liverpool and Dortmund in race to sign Bundesliga star
Liverpool’s rivalry with Borussia Dortmund is set to extend beyond the Europa League this summer with both clubs keen on signing the highly rated midfielder Mahmoud Dahoud.
The 20-year-old Borussia Mönchengladbach player has attracted widespread interest during his breakthrough season in the Bundesliga, where he has starred alongside captain and the Arsenal target Granit Xhaka.
Jürgen Klopp is among those pursuing Dahoud’s signature as the Liverpool manager embarks on a summer rebuilding programme at Anfield.
Dahoud, a Germany U21 international of Syrian descent, has enjoyed an outstanding season with Mönchengladbach, who would be reluctant to sell both the youngster and Xhaka but may relent should a bidding war lead to offers of around €30m for the former.
Dortmund have been repeatedly linked with the talented central midfielder with the futures of Ilkay Gündogan and Henrikh Mkhitaryan in doubt. But Klopp will rival his former club and Liverpool’s Europa League quarter-final opponents for the former Fortuna Düsseldorf player, who is aware of interest from Anfield.
The Liverpool manager has already utilised his Bundesliga background to sign the central defender Joël Matip on a free transfer from Schalke and wants a reunion with Mario Götze, who enjoyed the best period of his career so far under Klopp at Dortmund.
Liverpool are confident of prising Götze from Bayern Munich for between £15m and £20m this summer.
The club has also added to its midfield ranks for next season by securing another highly rated youngster, 19-year-old Marko Grujic, from Red Star Belgrade for £5.1m. Dahoud would cost considerably more and the pursuit underlines Klopp’s intent to overhaul Liverpool’s central midfield.
Source: Guardian
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