Liverpool had been tracking the development of Borussia Mönchengladbach midfielder Manu Kone ahead of the summer transfer window.
Liverpool summer transfer target Manu Kone left the stadium on crutches on Wednesday night after limping off in France’s 4-1 win over Switzerland at the European Under-21 Championship.
The 22-year-old maestro was one of the tournament’s best performers, with the Blues among the favorites for the trophy alongside Lee Carsley’s England.
Kone was man of the match in France’s 2-1 win over Italy in their Group D opener and have won their first three games since.
But Kone’s tournament now looks almost over after missing Wednesday’s clash against Switzerland with a knee injury. France were forced into that chance in the 19th minute, just after Amine Gouiri had given them the lead.
Former Bournemouth transfer target Enzo Le Fee has replaced Kone but there are fears Gladbacher could be sidelined for an extended period.
Kone was killed leaving the Stadionul Dr. Constantin Radulescu pictured on crutches in Cluj, Romania – sparking fears he suffered a serious injury. Repetition of the “fears” of the previous section
This could have implications for Liverpool, who are eyeing Kone on their list of potential midfielders in the summer transfer window.
Even his impressive performances at the tournaments in Romania and Georgia shouldn’t have hurt his chances of moving to Anfield. Liverpool are said to have already held talks with Kone’s representatives ahead of a summer transfer which now looks unlikely
The Reds are also closely linked with Kone’s French team-mate Khephren Thuram, who started the match before being retired in the 70th minute.
Should Liverpool pursue the signing of Kone, their chances of signing the player could be boosted by the appointment of Nils Schmadtke as Gladbach manager.
Schmadtke is the son of Liverpool’s new sporting director Jorg Schmadtke and will be responsible for managing the club’s summer affairs for Klopp after he moves to Anfield at the end of May.
Chelsea have also shown some interest in Kone, but both Premier League clubs will want to know the extent of his injury before making a move.
Liverpool also reportedly opened talks with RB Leipzig representatives Dominik Szoboszlai last week. Szoboszlai has a £60million release clause which expires on June 30 but after that the Reds could consider completing the deal for a cheaper price.
Newcastle are also interested in the Hungarian, who scored ten goals and provided 13 assists in 46 games in all competitions last season.
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