Liverpool Make Contact To Sign City's $130M Target As Wijnaldum’s Replacement: Report

Liverpool FC have reportedly made contact with Napoli over midfielder Piotr Zielinski’s transfer in the ongoing summer transfer window.

Zielinski has been linked with Liverpool for some time and now the Reds have made a bid for the Polish playmaker, who has a whopping exit clause of $130 million, reported Italian publication Calciomercato. According to the report, Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp has been a long-time admirer of the 27-year-old attacking midfielder and now the Reds have taken the first step towards fulfilling Klopp’s wish of adding Zielinski to their squad.

The Napoli star has also been linked with Arsenal and Manchester City in the last few weeks but Liverpool are believed to have made a concrete bid to seal the deal in the coming weeks, according to soccer website Teamtalk.

Since Zielinski is contracted with Napoli until 2024, the length of the deal will give the Serie A club a better chance of negotiating and receiving their desired fee.

Liverpool have so far only made one signing – Ibrahima Konate from RB Leipzig at $50 million.

The Anfield side had a tough 2020-21 season, where they failed to win a single trophy. They suffered many injury setbacks and narrowly escaped dropping down to Europa League. Ahead of the upcoming campaign, it is understood that Klopp has made it clear to the club’s management that he needs to have a more competitive squad in order to compete with the likes of Manchester City and Chelsea.

Moreover, Liverpool are also looking for a replacement for Gini Wijnaldum, who has moved to Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) on a free transfer. The Reds are considering Zielinski to be an ideal replacement for the Dutch midfielder as the Poland national has enough experience under his belt. Zielinski has made a total of 325 appearances in club soccer, while he has also notched up 62 caps for his country.

In the 2020-21 campaign, Zielinski scored 10 goals and provided 13 assists for Napoli, across all competitions. Overall, the midfielder has netted 32 goals and 29 assists for Napoli since his arrival at the Stadio San Paolo in 2016.

Apart from Zielinski, Liverpool have been linked with Liecester City’s Youri Tielemans, Porto’s Otavio, and Roma’s Lorenzo Pellegrini for Wijnaldum’s replacement.