Liverpool among clubs eyeing Olympiacos defender Pape Abou Cisse
By Tom Gott
Liverpool are thought to have scouted Olympiacos centre-back Pape Abou Cisse, who is also being tracked by the likes of Arsenal and Everton.
After last season's defensive nightmare, Liverpool are again well stocked at centre-back as Virgil van Dijk, Joe Gomez and Joel Matip have all returned from injury, while young Ibrahima Konate also joined the club from RB Leipzig.
Backup Nat Phillips signed a new contract back in August but is still expected to leave Anfield, either permanently or on loan, in the near future, and the Daily Mail state that Liverpool have their eye on Cisse as a potential addition.
Scouts from Anfield travelled to Istanbul for Olympiacos' Europa League clash with Fenerbahce in late August and watched on as the 26-year-old kept a clean sheet in a 3-0 victory.
The Reds are said to have shown the 'most intent' in their enquiries over Cisse, who plays with Anfield favourite Sadio Mane in the Senegal national team, but both Arsenal and Everton have made their interest clear as well.
Cisse spent the second half of last season on loan with Ligue 1 side Saint-Etienne, using his 6'6 frame to keep five clean sheets in his 14 appearances for the struggling side, whose climb away from the relegation zone just so happened to coincide with Cisse's arrival.
Whether that's enough to convince Liverpool to make a move for Cisse is unclear. They won't be spending big on a fifth-choice centre-back and would only humour doing so if Phillips leaves, although there is no guarantee that Jurgen Klopp would even push for extra cover.
For what it's worth, Greek outlet Sportime agree that Liverpool scouts were in attendance for the Fenerbahce game, but they state that the Reds' focus was not on Cisse but on 20-year-old midfielder Aguibou Camara instead.
That does seem more feasible, but Liverpool may well have used the chance to get a closer look at Cisse as well.