Liverpool are interested in a deal to bring Marcelo Brozovic to the Premier League in the January transfer window.

What's the talk?

That's according to a report by Italian media outlet CalcioMercatoWeb, who claim that, with Naby Keita being out of contract this summer and no longer being a central part of the long-term plans of Jurgen Klopp, the German manager is willing to offer Inter Milan the Guinea international plus cash for Brozovic - who the Serie A side are believed to value at around €35m (£31m).

However, the report goes on to suggest that Barcelona are also keen on a move for the 30-year-old Croatia international this winter, with the LaLiga club thought to have put forward their own swap deal in a bid to land the central midfielder - a move which would see former AC Milan talisman Franck Kessie exchange places with Brozovic at the Camp Nou.

"Irreplaceable"

Considering just how impressive Brozovic has been in Italy over recent years, coupled with how disappointing Keita has been for Liverpool since his £52.75m move from RB Leipzig back in 2018, it is not difficult to understand why Klopp would be keen to bring the former to Anfield at the expense of the latter.

Indeed, over his £4.5m move to Inter, the £34.5m-rated talent has failed to record an average Sofascore statistical rating below 7.14 - a score that would currently rank the 30-year-old as the Reds' fourth-best performer in the Premier League - demonstrating just how consistent the Croat is in the middle of the park.

Arguably the midfielder's best season in Italy came over his 33 Serie A appearances in the Nerazzurri's title-winning campaign back in 2020/21, with the £190k-per-week maestro scoring two goals, registering six assists and creating nine big chances for his teammates, as well as making an average of 1.4 key passes, taking 0.8 shots and completing 0.3 dribbles per game.

The 83-cap international also impressed in metrics more typical of his position that year, completing an average of 4.3 long balls, 3.1 chipped passes and 59.7 total passes - at a success rate of 90% - in addition to making 1.2 interceptions, 1.6 tackles, 1.1 clearances and winning 3.0 duels per match.

These returns saw the player who ex-Inter midfielder Gianfranco Matteoli dubbed "irreplaceable" average a simply sensational Sofascore match rating of 7.28, ranking him not only as Antonio Conte's second-best performer in the league but also the 14th-best player in the top flight of Italian football as a whole that season.

In contrast, Keita's best campaign at Liverpool came back in 2019/20, when the £6.8m-rated midfielder averaged a Sofascore statistical rating of 7.17 - only narrowly better than Brozovic's worst for Inter - while the £120k-per-week dud has so far averaged a career-low statistical rating of just 6.45 so far in 2022/23.

As such, it is clear for all to see that offloading Keita in order to bring Brozovic to Anfield this winter would be something of a masterstroke in the transfer market by Klopp, with it appearing an absolute must for the German to move the former on while simultaneously adding the latter to his current midfield options prior to January's transfer deadline.