In the New Year, Liverpool will compete with Tottenham Hotspur to acquire defender Lloyd Kelly from Bournemouth.
Kelly was linked to the Reds prior to his 2019 transfer from Bristol City to Bournemouth. Now that his contract is about to expire in the summer, the rumours are starting to pick up steam once more.
This time, it’s 90min who assert that Liverpool is “expected” to try to acquire Kelly in January.
Tottenham reportedly expressed a great deal of interest in the 25-year-old in September, but their £20 million deadline day bid was turned down.
Kelly will only have six months left on his contract if Spurs make a winter offer, which is reportedly “likely.”
Tottenham’s road ahead doesn’t seem easy, though, as Liverpool and Newcastle United are reportedly prepared to challenge them. Along with AC Milan, Juventus, Borussia Dortmund, and West Ham United, other teams mentioned as having interest include Fulham and West Ham United.
Liverpool getting ready for a Kelly try
When reports surfaced in 2019 that Liverpool was attempting to sign Kelly, it made some sense. The Reds were able to recognise the potential of the young, rising Championship defender at that point.
However, the Cherries singer hasn’t exactly lived up to his hype nearly five years later.
He was undoubtedly outstanding when Bournemouth was playing for promotion in 2021–2022, leading the team back to the Premier League.
However, Kelly has been forced to settle for a rotating position at Dean Court ever since.
He isn’t exactly a young player anymore—he is 25 years old. The England U21 international is undoubtedly still capable of improving, but it’s a bit puzzling that top teams are vying for his services.
From Liverpool’s perspective, they should be searching for Virgil van Dijk’s long-term replacement on the left side of the defence.
Kelly isn’t quite up to that level, despite being versatile and left-footed.
Maybe we can support it if the defender is being considered as a possible addition to the squad. However, let’s just say that if Spurs end up winning this one, we won’t be too disappointed.