Liverpool lead chase for £55m Brentford full-back with double deal possible
Liverpool are the Premier League club showing the strongest interest in Brentford star Michael Kayode, and they are also keen on signing his team-mate Kevin Schade, according to reports.
Brentford have made huge progress since gaining promotion to the top flight. Thomas Frank helped to establish the Bees as a stable Premier League outfit, and now Keith Andrews is building on those solid foundations.
Last season, the Bees missed out on qualification for the Europa Conference League on goal difference. They are determined to achieve such qualification this season and have started the new campaign brilliantly, going unbeaten in five matches to put themselves fourth in the table.
Kayode, Schade, Keane Lewis-Potter and Mamadou Sangare are just some of the Brentford players shining under Andrews’ guidance.
But the club’s success is bringing unwanted attention from richer Premier League clubs. As per CaughtOffside, Liverpool, Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur have converged on Italian right-back Kayode.
Liverpool ‘lead the race’ for Kayode as they have ‘placed him at the top of their watchlist’.
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The report adds: ‘At present, no official bid has been submitted to Brentford, and no direct negotiations have begun. The process remains in the “monitoring and reporting” stage ahead of the winter window.’
CO claim Liverpool will need to offer Brentford €60-65m (£51-55m) to sign Kayode.
Such a move would allow Dominik Szoboszlai to play in midfield week in, week out, rather than having to cover at right-back.
Kayode moving to Anfield would also allow Ronald Araujo to play in central defence more often. Araujo has impressed in the early stages of his loan from Barcelona, prompting Liverpool to consider activating their €55m (£47m) option to buy.
Schade is another Brentford ace to have deeply impressed Liverpool recruitment staff. Our colleagues at TEAMtalk revealed on September 30 that Liverpool are emerging as favourites to sign the German forward.
Brentford have opened talks to renew Schade’s contract, in an attempt to keep him from the clutches of Liverpool.
Liverpool set sights on Kayode, Schade
But Schade could be tempted to reject a contract offer in order to help a switch to Anfield reach completion.
Previous reports have put the 24-year-old’s valuation at around the £60m mark.
Liverpool like Schade’s versatility, as he mainly operates as a left winger but is also dangerous while playing as a centre-forward or right winger.
Jeremy Jacquet is one player Liverpool have already brought in, and they feel he can actually develop into a better player than Manchester City’s Marc Guehi.
Trusted Liverpool reporter Paul Joyce has written for The Times: ‘While Guéhi represented a plug in and play option given his Premier League experience, City also offered him about £300,000 a week in wages. Over the course of a 5½-year deal, that makes the overall package £100m for someone who will be 31 when the contract expires.
‘Liverpool feel Jacquet can develop into a better all-round player and the collapse of Ibrahima Konaté’s contract talks at the end of last season must be seen through that lens, too.
‘By all accounts, Jacquet was being viewed as a first-team player and ceding to Konaté’s desire for a high wage after a difficult season in which his output dipped for a variety of reasons became a problem the club felt they could do without.’
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