There's no use denying it. Losing Leny Yoro to Manchester United would be extremely galling from a Liverpool perspective.
It's one thing missing out to Real Madrid, serial winner of the Champions League and the reigning champion of the competition. It's quite another missing out to Erik ten Hag's ragtag bunch, who will not even be in the tournament this season, and whose absence from the top of the Premier League now extends beyond a decade.
Frankly, Michael Edwards and Richard Hughes should be scrambling to see if it's not too late to pull off a transfer hijack, akin to the deal that stole Luis Diaz away from Spurs. But assuming Yoro is going to slip through the net, another transfer opportunity might be emerging .
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Despite Hughes claiming that Liverpool would be opportunistic this summer, the Reds have so far made the mistake of being passive. Reading between the lines, they assumed Yoro's preference for Real Madrid could not be overturned, and thus missed the chance to be in the conversation while Manchester United threw everything at persuading him.
Perhaps, then, Liverpool should be more responsive to the next chance. Manchester United has been doing some stalling of its own when it comes to Matthijs de Ligt — presumably because Yoro has always been the number one target.
It was reported back on July 9 that Manchester United had agreed personal terms with De Ligt ( Mirror ). But the lack of progress since then suggests that the Dutchman might have been essentially left on standby while Yoro was pursued. Per Give Me Sport , the fee is also known. Bayern Munich wants $55m (£42m/€50m).
There's no denying that De Ligt is not viewed in the same generational light as Yoro. But with all of the conditions for a deal already essentially in place, Liverpool could construct a transfer in next to no time, again using the Diaz template of effectively completing a move that has been hashed out by another club.
The former Ajax and Juventus star is still only 24. It was not all that long ago that he was viewed in a fairly similar light to Yoro, with many top clubs linked, and it may well be that his peak years still lie ahead.
Though De Ligt fell slightly down the pecking order at Bayern Munich last season, he still played a significant chunk of the matches for which he was fit. Given his age and his prior record, it does seem surprising that he's available at a relatively knockdown fee, significantly less than what Juventus sold him for in 2022.
A quick browse of FBref shows you that Virgil van Dijk shows up as De Ligt's most similar player. Liverpool, of course, is in need of a long-term heir, with the captain's contract into its final year.
Hugely assured with his passing, reasonably strong in the air and with an attacking threat to boot, De Ligt does tick a lot of boxes for a central defender at Liverpool. Given his experiences at Bayern, he would probably also accept that he is coming into a competitive environment where he will need to earn his place ahead of the likes of Ibrahima Konate and Jarell Quansah , not to mention national captain Van Dijk.
It's not the perfect deal — that, unfortunately, may well be Yoro. But Manchester United's surprise coup could at least give Liverpool the chance to swoop for De Ligt.
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