MUCHO MONEY TO NAB MARCO
Liverpool are weighing up a British record £ 158million transfer swoop for Real Madrid star Marco Asensio.
The Spanish youngster is tipped to be one of the biggest talents of his generation and Reds boss Jurgen Klopp wants him to replace playmaker Philippe Coutinho.
Asensio is being lined up to spearhead the Spanish national team for years to come with the 22-year- old at the World Cup in Russia.
But despite playing in 53 of Madrid’s 62 matches last season many of Asensio’s outings were off the bench.
One of those was in Real’s 3-1 Champions League Final victory over Klopp’s men in Kiev last month when he came on as an 89th-minute sub for Karim Benzema.
Liverpool will be hoping the prospect of regular starts can lure the Spaniard to Anf ield as he was known to be frustrated with his lack of playing time at the Bernabeu last season.
But Klopp has a huge hurdle to overcome if he’s to land him as a replacement for Cout inho who swapped Merseyside for Barcelona in a January transfer deal worth a staggering £146m.
The Anfield club’s bid could be derailed by a £615m release clause has in Asensio’s contract which runs out in 2023.
However, sources in Spain insist the clause was set merely to protect Madrid in the transfer market if Asensio became a target.
Klopp knows his team need a world-class playmaker and Asensio would fit the bill perfectly despite the huge transfer costs involved.
Liverpool have already coughed up £ 53m for RB Leipzig midfielder Naby Keita after a deal was struck with the German club last year for the Guinea international.
Asensio made his World Cup debut off the bench in Spain’s 1- 0 win over Iran and will hope to make an impact