Liverpool eyeing move for £25m Golden Boy candidate; his club could be forced to sell – report | OneFootball

Liverpool are reportedly interested in signing Valencia centre-back Cristhian Mosquera next summer, but could face tough competition from around Europe.

According to Fichajes, the young defender will be the ‘next big sale’ at the Mestalla. The 20-year-old has been a key part of Los Ches’ defence and has played every minute of their nine La Liga games so far this season.

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The report adds that a number of European clubs were impressed by Mosquera during the Olympic Games in Paris this summer, at which he helped Spain to win the gold medal.

Valencia are currently undergoing a financial crisis and the youngster could be sold if an offer of €30m (£25m) is made, as that would likely be enough to ‘tempt’ them into doing business.

Inter Milan and Atletico Madrid are also keen on the 20-year-old, who they believe can be a cheap but effective option to strengthen their defence.

Mosquera is young but very talented and the price is good

Photo by Juan Manuel Serrano Arce/Getty Images

The Spain under-21 international played 36 league games last season, starting all but three of those. As per WhoScored, he averaged one interception, 1.6 tackles and 3.6 clearances per game as Valencia finished ninth in LaLiga.

He has started every game for Los Ches so far this term and has been impressive, helping them to keep three clean sheets in their last four games, despite Ruben Baraja’s side languishing in 18th place in the table.

The 20-year-old has never missed a game through injury for the senior team and is one of the nominees for the 2024 Golden Boy award.

Liverpool now need to think about their centre-back options for the long-term, especially if Virgil van Dijk leaves at the end of his contract next summer, although it helps that the Reds recently extended Jarell Quansah’s deal and, Ibrahima Konate is also reportedly set to renew his commitment to the club.

It appears that Mosquera would be a great option to add, and an asking price of £25m for a young centre-back in 2024 is certainly a good deal. We won’t say that he’s world-class yet, but he appears to have the potential to be great.

However, this move could depend on two factors – the futures of Joe Gomez and Van Dijk. Should the latter depart, LFC would need to look for a more experienced centre-back who can anchor the defence, rather than heaping pressure on a youngster to fill the leadership void.

If Gomez is the only centre-back departure from Anfield next summer, then a move for the Valencia player would make much more sense, as he could then learn from the Liverpool captain and develop along with Quansah and Konate.