Liverpool Transfer News: Latest on Mateo Kovacic and William Carvalho Rumours

If Liverpool still preserve an interest in landing Mateo Kovacic from Internazionale, they may have to fight off interest from Bayern Munich, according to reports.

As noted by Anthony Chapman of the Daily Express, the Reds have long been linked with a £21 million move for the Croatia international. But Italian newspaper Tuttosport (via the aforementioned Express piece) have claimed that Bayern boss Pep Guardiola is a fan of the midfielder and is keen to bring him to the Bundesliga.

Here’s a look at what Kovacic would add to either Liverpool or Bayern:

Chapman writes that Bayern stalwart Bastian Schweinsteiger could leave the club this summer, and Kovacic is tipped as his “replacement.” The report also claims that despite landing Roberto Firmino and James Milner already, Reds boss Brendan Rodgers is keen to add more reinforcements to the core of his team and the 21-year-old is “top of Liverpool's shopping list.”

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However, Kovacic is not a stylistically similar player to departed Reds legend Steven Gerrard or Bayern's Schweinsteiger. Indeed, as noted by German football expert Marco Conradie, the German champions already have plenty of quality in midfield:

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The one position where Bayern really need no strengthening is midfield, and Kovacic wouldn't make sense while Götze is still at the club.

— Marco Conradie (@MarcoConradie10) July 1, 2015"

The Reds are pretty stacked in this area too, with Firmino joining Philippe Coutinho, Adam Lallana and Lazar Markovic as attacking midfield options. Indeed, Carl Markham of the Press Association has always maintained that there is no interest in the player from the Anfield outfit:

Joining a team like Liverpool or Bayern may be alluring for the Croatian, but being rotated in and out of a side won’t do his development any good. It’s why, for the time being at least, he should be looking to stay at Inter.

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The Nerazzurri have made some excellent acquisitions in Miranda, Jeison Murillo and Geoffrey Kondogbia, setting them up well for a prosperous 2015-16 season. The onus will be on Kovacic to add the attacking sparkle that can expedite a turnaround in fortunes for this giant of Italian football.

Liverpool 'Scouting' William Carvalho

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According to O Jogo (h/t Kristian Walsh of the Liverpool Echo), Liverpool sent scouts to the European U21 Championships to run the rule over Portugal’s midfield star William Carvalho.

The piece claims the Reds had representatives at the Selecao’s stunning semi-final win over Germany as well as the final against Sweden; a match in which Carvalho missed the decisive kick in a penalty shootout.

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Nonetheless, the holding midfielder was named player of the tournament for his efforts and rightly so, according to Bleacher Report’s Sam Tighe:

It’s easy to see why Liverpool were keeping an eye on Carvalho, who, as noted by Walsh, has also been strongly linked with Tottenham Hotspur, Manchester United and Arsenal.

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The Sporting starlet was a magnificent influence at the base of the Portugal midfield, breaking up attacks, bustling opponents off the ball and setting his team-mates on their way with sharp forward passes.

On paper, he seems a perfect fit for the Premier League, something Tighe agrees with:

For Liverpool, Carvalho would be a brilliant purchase. While Rodgers has added to this area, aside from the perennially injured Lucas Leiva, there is a scarcity of orthodox defensive midfielders in the squad; the Portuguese midfielder would fill that void magnificently.

The Reds seem as though they’d face a major fight to sign Carvalho, though. As mentioned above, there’s plenty of interest in the player, and the prospect of Champions League football at the Emirates or Old Trafford could be a draw for the youngster. But after the stellar business conducted by Liverpool in recent weeks, it’d be naive to completely rule them out of the running.