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It was recently confirmed that Bournemouth had beaten Liverpool to the signing of Bristol City defender Lloyd Kelly, with the Cherries snapping up the youngster for a fee of £13m.

What's the word, then?

Well, Liverpool had held an interest in the England Under-21 international, although they were not prepared to match the Cherries' offer - as reported by London Evening Standard.

The Reds are in the market for some defensive reinforcements after allowing Alberto Moreno to run down his contract and leave on a free, but they clearly didn't deem Kelly worthy of a £13m sum.

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Kelly has made 34 first-team appearances for Bristol City, which is impressive for a player of his age - he is just 20 years old.

It has been reported that Liverpool are only prepared to part with hefty sums for players who they know will come in to be a guaranteed starter, and whilst Kelly was viewed as someone who could provide flexible defensive cover, the Reds backed out.

Big mistake

Liverpool, as aforesaid, are targeting defensive reinforcements this summer, and allowing Kelly to slip through their fingers could potentially be a big blunder.

This is a player who has shown excellent promise despite his youthful age, and has also displayed eye-catching versatility that enables him to perform competently at both left-back and centre-back.

He is basically the mirror image of Joe Gomez, a player who the Reds shelled out £3.5m for back in 2015; surely, given the way the market has changed since then, it would be worth splashing out roughly three times that for a player of similar ilk?

Kelly would've been an excellent backup to Andy Robertson, and would also have been able to provide cover for the likes of Dejan Lovren, Joel Matip, Joe Gomez and Virgil van Dijk at centre-back; it shouldn't be forgotten that Klopp was forced to play Fabinho at centre-back this term on the odd occasion.

Additionally, how many players will be on the market this summer for such a minimal fee who can cover two defensive positions competently? Liverpool may end up having to pay more for their Moreno replacement.

It definitely would've been worth matching the £13m Bournemouth spent on Kelly; for a player of his potential and ability, this can be viewed as a blunder from Klopp and Michael Edwards.