Where Have the Liverpool Transfer Links to Ismaila Sarr Come From?

Liverpool have been name-checked in connection with a move for Watford winger Ismaila Sarr, although a summer deal appears quite unlikely.

Sarr joined Watford for a club record fee close to £30m in August 2019, and has since turned in a number of eye-catching performances, scoring five times and laying on three assists in the Premier League.

Liverpool were famously on the receiving end of one of those eye-catching performances on 29 February, when Sarr almost single-handedly ended their unbeaten record at Vicarage Road, and he has since been mentioned in passing as a potential target.

A recent article on fan site Liverpool.com - not to be mistaken for the club's official website - looks to have given life to a new raft of speculative stories, with the general consensus that the Reds are watching the situation closely, ready to pounce if Watford face the drop.

The initial piece doesn't actually say that much - it simply claims in passing that there has been 'reported interest' from Anfield, without pointing to any source, while bringing up the relationship between Sarr and international teammate Sadio Mane.

Liverpool.com's pieces goes on to discuss how any potential deal might be made difficult by supposed bad blood between Watford owner Gino Pozzo and the Liverpool hierarchy, which dates back to 2016, when Liverpool attempted to sign Piotr Zielinski from Pozzo's Udinese.

That, though, is just one of many red flags that raises question marks over any potential move this summer.

As a result of extensive reporting on the matter, it's almost public record that Liverpool aren't planning to spend big in the current transfer window, and Watford - no matter what league they find themselves in - will be looking for a tidy return on their investment.

And while Sarr's pace and directness may well frame him as an alternative to Mohamed Salah or Sadio Mané, it should be noted that as he is an international teammate of the latter, his recruitment would only add to Jurgen Klopp's selection conundrum when the delayed AFCON comes around.

It's a deal that could happen eventually - earlier in the week Gary Neville praised the Senegal star and tipped him for a move to Manchester United. However, the 22-year-old will likely require at least another season in England and some distance from the economic fallout of the coronavirus before any big clubs come calling.