Liverpool Interested in Wolves Forward Diogo Jota
By Tom Gott
Liverpool have expressed an interest in signing Wolverhampton Wanderers forward Diogo Jota on their quest to find some more attacking depth.
With doubts over the futures of Xherdan Shaqiri and Rhian Brewster, Jürgen Klopp has made finding some more firepower in attack one of his top priorities this summer, but has found striking an affordable deal harder than he would have hoped.
Watford's Ismaïla Sarr has long been touted as Liverpool's preferred option, but Paul Joyce has revealed that Klopp has enquired about Jota, with the news coming just minutes after it was revealed that young defender Ki-Jana Hoever is set to move in the opposite direction.
The Times' report adds that a deal for Jota is getting closer and is expected to be worth around the £35m mark, though it could be more.
Wolves have agreed a fee of around £10m for 18-year-old Hoever, who has just four senior appearances to his name, and that deal initially sparked confusion among Liverpool fans who were disappointed to see one of their top prospects shipped off.
However, it appears as though Jota's name has come up in negotiations, with Klopp interested in bringing the 23-year-old over to Anfield.
Jota, who managed 16 goals and six assists in all competitions last season, was an unused substitute in Wolves' season opener against Sheffield United and was left out of the squad altogether for Thursday's shock Carabao Cup defeat to Stoke City.
The Portugal international was present at the game and was seen warming up with his team-mates before kick-off, so it came as a surprise to see him omitted from the squad. Manager Nuno Espírito Santo declined to explain the absence after the game.
Liverpool potentially see Jota as a cheaper alternative to Sarr, who has been valued at around £40m by Watford - a fee Klopp is reluctant to pay in the aftermath of the coronavirus shutdown.