Liverpool Want to Secure Signing of $45million Star – More Vital than Salah

Liverpool are looking to strengthen their team in the summer transfer window and Jurgen Klopp must lure top quality players to have any chance of winning the title next season.
Yesterday, we covered a report (via Corriere dello Sport) claiming that the Reds are close to signing Egyptian star Mohamed Salah from Roma. Today, they are linked with a Portuguese star whose signing should be more important for the Reds as compared to Salah. The player in discussion is Porto midfielder Ruben Neves.
According to Portuguese source A Bola, Liverpool and Chelsea are in a heated battle to secure the signing of the 20-year-old defensive midfielder.
The Merseysiders have one of the best attacking squads in England and they scored for fun last season. However, they were shaky at the back and conceded goals on regular basis as well.
Klopp did sign two center halves to strengthen his back line last summer but he did not sign a strong defensive midfielder, who would have been able to provide a solid cover in front of the back four.
It will be fair to say that the Reds have lacked a top quality holding midfield star since the departure of Javier Mascherano to Barcelona in 2010. Therefore, signing a top DM is much more vital than signing a top playmaker.
Back in 2015, Neves became the youngest player to captain a team in the Champions League but last season, he could not start regularly for Porto.
Liverpool were interested in signing Ruben last summer as well and we can expect the Primeira Liga side to demand a huge fee for the midfielder, who has a release clause of 40 million euros ($45million) in his contract (Record).
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