Liverpool have been linked with several midfielders over the last few months, and a new update has emerged on one such potential transfer target.

What's the latest?

According to Italian journalist Rudy Galetti, Real Sociedad midfielder Mikel Merino is on Jurgen Klopp's list of potential targets.

As per the report, Galetti claimed that Merino is on a list featuring Piotr Zielinski, Declan Rice and Moises Caicedo as Liverpool attempt to rebuild their midfield in upcoming transfer windows.

Klopp can land his own Sergej Milinkovic-Savic

There is no doubt that Liverpool are in desperate need of reinforcements in the middle of the park, as many of the midfielders in the squad are either out of contract in the summer or reaching the latter stages of their career.

Naby Keita, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and James Milner are all entering the last six months of their contracts at Anfield, whilst skipper Jordan Henderson and Thiago Alcantara are both into their 30s.

This leaves just Fabinho as the most experienced long-term prospect in the heart of the midfield, with youngsters Curtis Jones and Harvey Elliott only now coming into their own in the team.

As a result, the prospective signing of Merino - who has a £50m release clause - could be a great piece of business for the Merseysiders, as he could bring not only some much-needed experience in midfield but a lot of quality as well.

Across 14 La Liga appearances so far this term, the former Newcastle United gem - who was described by Rafael Benitez as "a midfielder with talent" and "very focused" - has scored one goal, delivered six assists and created eight big chances. He has also averaged 1.4 key passes, 2.4 tackles, 2.3 clearances and 7.4 successful duels per game, proving that he is both solid defensively and offers an attacking threat.

Furthermore, Merino ranks in the top 10% of his positional peers across the top five leagues in Europe for touches, clearances and aerial duels won, also ranking in the top 15% for assists.

Klopp could even land his very own Sergej Milinkovic-Savic in the Spaniard, as the Lazio star is one of the top ten most comparable midfielders to Merino according to FBref.

The talented duo have had many similarities in their output over the season so far, including assists (6 v 7, Merino first), shots per 90 (1.84 v 1.64), pass completion rate (75.6% v 75.1%), shot-creating actions (41 v 37), interceptions (13 v 14) and blocks (15 v 17).

With that in mind, Merino could be a great asset to the Merseysiders in their pursuit to refresh their midfield over the coming months and may just make the difference needed to get Liverpool back where they belong, competing for Premier League titles at the top of the table.