LIVERPOOL have made a £25.8million bid for Roma midfielder Lorenzo Pellegrini to replace Georginio Wijnaldum, according to reports.
Jurgen Klopp is preparing for life without the Dutch star after they failed to agree to terms on a contract extension.
Wijnaldum was expected to join Barcelona before Paris Saint-Germain blew them out of the water with an 11th hour offer TWICE the value of the LaLiga giants.
Liverpool are now looking at ideal replacements for the Kop icon.
And Corriere dello Sport claim the Reds have launched a £25.8m bid for Pellegrini.
The 17-cap Italy star, 24, scored 11 times and added a further nine assists for Roma last season.
And Klopp believes Pellegrini is just the attacking spark his midfield lacked last season.
Jordan Henderson, Fabinho and James Milner are all defensive-minded, with Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Naby Keita struggling to stay fit, while Thiago is more of a playmaker than scorer.
Curtis Jones has shown promise in a more advance role, but lacks experience.
So Pellegrini could be the perfect player to complete Klopp’s midfield as he aims to wrestle back the Premier League title from Manchester City.
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The central midfielder has just one year to run on his current deal at Roma with contract negotiations yet to be opened.
The Italian club – now with Jose Mourinho as manager – could sell him this summer rather than allow him to leave on a free in 2022.
Roma are already looking at potential replacements, with Mourinho believed to be keen on Granit Xhaka, Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg and Donny van de Beek.
However, Liverpool will face competition for Pellegrini from Barcelona, according to AS.
Barca are frustrated to have missed out on Wijnaldum and also see the Italian as a ‘replacement’.
Pellegrini has been at Roma since the age of nine, spending over a decade working his way through the youth ranks before breaking into the first-team in 2017-18.
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Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
