5 players Liverpool should target in the summer

The Premier League transfer window has officially opened and Liverpool have some business to do in the market.

Liverpool’s focus might be on the upcoming Champions League final but there will be those at the club who are already working feverishly behind the scenes to prepare for next season. A massive part of those preparations is securing Jurgen Klopp’s transfer targets who will have been scouted and vetted ad nauseum over the past few months. Guinean midfielder Naby Keita has already signed from RB Leipzig and a number of further acquisitions are expected. And while Klopp’s renowned scouting department will have prepared a comprehensive shortlist, we have a few players of our own in mind who should be on the list.

Gianluigi Donnarumma

From the Dino Zoff’s of yesteryear to the Gianluigi Buffon’s of today, Italy produces better goalkeepers than most. The latest name to slide off the conveyor belt of shot-stopping marvels is 19-year old Gianluigi Donnarumma, and he’s a player Liverpool should be keen on.

The goalkeeping department has been a concern for Liverpool for a number of seasons. Pepe Reina declined from the heights of his early years and was replaced by a solid-yet-error-prone Simon Mignolet, who in turn has been replaced by a slightly less error-prone Loris Karius. To be fair, Karius has done little wrong since assuming the gloves permanently but the opportunity to sign the best young goalkeeper in the world is one which shouldn’t pass Liverpool by.

Donnarumma, who became the youngest goalkeeper ever to feature for Italy in 2016, shares not only a first name with the aforementioned Buffon but also many of the traits that saw him become an all-time great. His reflexes and command of the box have seen him labelled the natural heir to the former Juventus star’s throne and he would wear that crown with distinction at Liverpool. He has a height and reach advantage over the incumbent Karius and despite his tender age possesses the quality of control and distribution required of a Jurgen Klopp goalkeeper.

Still only 19, the current AC Milan stopper could become Liverpool’s number one for the next 10-15 years and form a reliable backbone upon which the club can build its future successes. While it would cost the Merseysiders a reported fee of between £35 million and £70m million to secure his signature it would be an investment that the club would benefit from for years to come.