Liverpool transfer news as $10m Barcelona target ‘scouted’ amid ‘concrete’ João Palhinha claim

Transfer rumors involving Liverpool: The Reds have started scouting a player who Barcelona is interested in, and there’s significant information on the race for João Palhinha of Fulham.

The transfer market reopens in just over two weeks, and it appears that this event may have a significant impact on the Premier League title fight. Liverpool now leads the standings, but it has a little window of opportunity to fix a few shortcomings.

The position of center back is the first of those. Joël Matip suffered a season-ending anterior cruciate ligament injury earlier this month, and it now appears that he will miss the rest of the year. Liverpool may use a reinforcement there to prevent Jarell Quansah, a rookie, from taking on too much responsibility.

Maintaining midfield is the second. Alexis Mac Allister has started every league game for which he has been eligible because Wataru Endō, the Reds’ only specialist substitute for the departing Fabinho, has played well but isn’t a truly elite player in his position. Although the Argentine has performed admirably, he still seems like a stopgap.

And there’s the matter of what Liverpool’s competitors accomplish. After a relatively slow start to the season, will Manchester City bounce back and will Arsenal want to acquire an elite-level goalscorer? Here is Liverpool.com’s assessment of the transfer rumors circulating about the Reds today while we wait for the answers.

Sonko Momodou (BK Häcken)
Liverpool studied Momodou Sonko, a winger for BK Häcken, during Thursday’s Europa League match against Qarabağ, according to Swedish publication Expressen. ‘Some of the biggest clubs in the world’, including the Reds, are interested in the 18-year-old.

Although Leipzig and Barcelona are also mentioned as potential suitors, it is not yet known if the player will depart in January. When he does go, the Allsvenskan team is expecting to be paid around $10 million (around £7.7 million or €9.0 million).

According to Liverpool.com, Sonko had an incredible season for a teenager in Sweden, which follows the calendar year instead of the August to May pattern followed in the UK and continental Europe. He made 29 appearances in the Swedish top flight and domestic cup, tallying seven assists and ten goals.

Sonko had an outstanding performance even though Häcken ended the Europa League group stage without a point, losing 2-1 in Azerbaijan in front of Liverpool scouts. He finished five of the six dribbles he tried, pitched in out of possession with three tackles, generated three opportunities, and won eight of the twelve ground duels he participated in. That being said, the reports will almost certainly be favorable.

Fulham’s João Palhinha
It has come to Bayern Munich’s attention that midfield player João Palhinha is the subject of a “concrete interest” from Liverpool, as reported by Christian Falk, a Sport Bild journalist (for Caught Offside). Palhinha left for Germany on the last day of the summer transfer window, hoping to finalize a deal with Bayern, but Fulham withdrew their offer just before the deadline.