Liverpool prepare €40m bid for Saul Niguez

Liverpool are believed to be preparing an offer of around €40m (£34.4m) for Atletico Madrid midfielder Saul Niguez, with both the Spanish club and the player open to a potential transfer.

It's well noted that the Reds are in need of some reinforcements in the middle of the park this summer after the departure of Georginio Wijnaldum. There were some reports that they wouldn't look to replace him and instead promote from within, but the noise coming from Anfield suggests they are looking to recruit a new midfielder.

They have been linked with a cabal of potential Wijnaldum replacements, ranging from Youri Tielemans to Renato Sanches via Hoffenheim's Christoph Baumgartner. But one rumour which seems to have gathered some momentum recently is that of Atletico Madrid star Saul.

News of Liverpool's interest first emerged from Spain earlier this week, with La Razon vaguely claiming that Liverpool were looking at Saul, and that Atleti were prepared to talk.

But the story has now been taken a step further by AS, who claim that Liverpool are now 'preparing a bid' in the region of €40m for the 26-year-old.

It's understood that the La Liga champions are looking for a bit more than the reported fee on the table for Saul, but the days in which they could command close to €100m for his services have been and gone. While he played a part in their famous title win last season, his stock has fallen with some inconsistent performances, and he was even left out of the Spain squad for this summer's Euros.

Should he stay, he will have a role to play under Diego Simeone. But his gametime dropped dramatically last season, and with the imminent arrival of Rodrigo De Paul from Udinese, he has a battle on his hands to hold onto a first-team spot.

All that taken into consideration, Saul himself feels it may be time to move on, and believes the Premier League could be an exciting next step.

Elsewhere, it's claimed that Liverpool have made an enquiry for another Spain international in Wolves' Adama Traore. This one comes from Football Insider, but 90min did also report back in June that the Reds held an interest in the winger.

It was believed then that Wolves were prepared to sell him in order to raise funds, but whether Liverpool will be prepared to meet their asking price after an indifferent season in which the 25-year-old struggled for long spells remains to be seen.