Liverpool are interested in a summer swoop for Athletic Bilbao's Nico Williams, who is attracting mounting attention for his exploits in Spanish La Liga...
What's the talk?
Flourishing out in Spain, the 20-year-old Williams has joined his brother, Inaki, in starring for the Basque Country outfit, and now earns the attention from several Premier League sides for his performances.
According to prominent Spanish publication AS (via Sport Witness), the Merseyside giants are eager to rival Aston Villa for his signature, with the Claret & Blue failing in their attempts to sign him this January.
The winger has a €50m (£45m) buyout clause, and with Bilbao infamously fierce negotiators, certainly not malleable when it comes to their transfer strategy, Jurgen Klopp's Reds would likely have to meet the valuation to secure a deal.
Klopp's next Mane
Liverpool completed the initial £35m signing of Cody Gakpo from PSV Eindhoven this winter to bolster the frontline in the midst of long-term injuries to Diogo Jota and Luis Diaz, while Darwin Nunez was signed from SL Benfica for a club-record £85m last summer.
Despite this, the club have tumbled into a perilous position this season, languishing in tenth place in the Premier League and already out of the two domestic competitions they emphatically gleaned last term.
Stability and cohesion have gone out the window, and the departure of devastating offensive stalwart Sadio Mane - who was sold to Bayern Munich for £35m with just one year remaining on his contract - has certainly played a big part in smashing a hole into Anfield.
By forging ahead with a transfer for Williams, this formerly free-flowing attack might just start to show signs of life once again; having made 25 appearances this season, he has scored six goals and assists apiece.
The seven-cap international wields an innate physicality that transcends his team's frontal fluidity on the pitch, with one scout report lauding the 'overwhelming success' of his direct approach in 1v1 situations, while also waxing lyrical over the blistering pace and fleet-footed nature of his progression with the ball at his feet.
And as per FBref, the Spaniard ranks among the top 6% of positional peers in Europe's top five leagues for progressive carries over the past year; with his Senegalese counterpart ranking among the top 4% of forwards for the same metric, a clear indication of their dangerous similarities.
Playing the bulk of his most successful endeavours as a pro at Liverpool, Mane won the Premier League and the Champions League under Klopp's tutelage, signing from divisional rivals Southampton for £34m in 2016.
Arriving as an exciting, dynamic and talented prospect, the Reds' German boss created a truly prodigious talent on Merseyside, with the now 30-year-old going on to score 120 goals and supply 48 assists from 269 appearances, an integral component to the club's success - as evidenced by the unravelling this season, following his departure.
Still young and yet to hit the zenith of his ability, the "daring" Williams - as lauded by former boss Marcelinho - is already emulating his established sibling in becoming an integral attacking force for Bilbao, but with the word indeed at his feet, he might look to ply his trade elsewhere in order to truly reach the heights he strives for, and Liverpool's Klopp can open the door to a stomping ground fit for a man of his ability.