Liverpool Transfer News: Marco Reus, Piotr Zielinski, Leandro Paredes Rumours

Barcelona are said to have cooled their interest in reported Liverpool target Marco Reus, with Leicester City’s Riyad Mahrez now noted as their primary target.  

According to Martin Lipton of the Sun, the European champions will launch a £15 million bid for the Algerian, who has helped push the Foxes to the summit of the Premier League table. It's suggested that Borussia Dortmund’s Reus has been overtaken by Mahrez after his stellar recent showings in English football’s top flight.

David Maddock of the Daily Mirror wrote earlier in March that the Reds are interested in Reus, who is one of the most feared attacking players around:

If Barcelona are out of the picture when it comes to any pursuit of the player, it’d be a significant boost for Liverpool.

After all, while Reus would struggle to make it into the Blaugrana XI ahead of the likes of Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez and Neymar, there is a certain gravitas that accompanies the Catalan giants, making them tough to turn down. 

OLLY GREENWOOD/Getty Images

As DW Sports noted ahead of BVB’s 0-0 draw with Bayern Munich on Saturday, Reus has been part of a stellar attacking trident himself at the Westfalenstadion:

For Liverpool, the attraction to this kind of player is obvious. Not only is Reus well versed in the in-your-face football manager Jurgen Klopp wants to bring to Liverpool, but stylistically, he’s exactly what’s needed; so often this term the Reds have been narrow in their forward forays, lacking a guile and penetration from the wide areas.

At his best from the left, Reus brings those traits in spades, as his nine goals and three assists in the Bundesliga this season illustrate in earnest. It’d be a significant coup for the Reds if they could get a deal done given Dortmund look to be on the rise once again, but if Barcelona have indeed dropped their interest, then that’ll enhance what is a slender chance of getting this to happen.

Reds Scouts Watch Piotr Zielinski, Leandro Paredes

Gabriele Maltinti/Getty Images

Liverpool scouts were reportedly in attendance at Genoa’s 1-0 win over Empoli on Sunday to run the rule over both Piotr Zielinski and Leandro Paredes.

According to Jean-Luca Mascaro of GianlucaDiMarzio.com (translated by David Amoyal), “a few” scouts from Merseyside were at the match to assess Empoli’s Zielinski and Paredes, who are on loan from Udinese and Roma, respectively.

It’s reported the pair are “highly regarded” by Klopp and that the Reds are already making plans for the summer transfer window. 

Gabriele Maltinti/Getty Images

Paredes and Zielinski are both attacking midfield players who have been performing well during their respective loan spells. Here is a look at how they compare in Serie A matches this season:

	Zielinski	Paredes
Apps (Sub)	26	20 (4)
Goals	3	2
Assists	4	1
Shots per game	1.9	1.9
Key passes per game	1.6	1.2
Dribbles per game	2.7	1.1
Passing accuracy	80.5 %	83.3 %

Liverpool have a surfeit of options when it comes to these positions, with Roberto Firmino, Philippe Coutinho, Adam Lallana and Jordon Ibe all vying for a spot in the side at the moment. Lazar Markovic, currently on loan at Fenerbahce will also fancy his chances of forcing his way into contention next season.

So while these two alleged targets clearly fit a blueprint—technical and intense players who can improve with appropriate coaching—this segment of the squad shouldn’t be a priority for the manager in the off-season, unless he has desires on moving some of the aforementioned talent out of the Anfield exit door.