Fabrizio Romano has advised to ‘keep an eye on’ Liverpool regarding a potential transfer for an experienced Serie A right-back in the summer.
That area of the pitch has been quite problematic for the Reds this season, with Jeremie Frimpong and Conor Bradley both missing a substantial amount of time with injury and Arne Slot frequently deploying midfielders to deputise in that position.
Anfield chiefs had reportedly contacted Inter Milan in late January to ask about Denzel Dumfries, but they were understood to only want him on loan, which the Nerazzurri weren’t prepared to facilitate.
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In an update on his Italian language YouTube channel, Romano claimed that Liverpool could potentially go back in for the 30-year-old in the summer transfer window by taking advantage of a release clause.
He stated: “Denzel Dumfries is a hot topic for the summer, an issue that we need to keep monitoring. He has a release clause active in the summer, so that opens up the market potential. All the various opportunities are being explored for Dumfries. The release clause has a very limited timeframe.
“One team to keep an eye on Denzel Dumfries remains Liverpool. Liverpool already wanted him during the January transfer window. It wasn’t possible, partly because Dumfries was injured.
“Inter wouldn’t have agreed to a loan deal in January, which was perhaps the only reason why Liverpool could even consider that kind of move, but Inter immediately said no.
“Let’s see whether this summer Liverpool go back in for Dumfries. He’s certainly a player highly rated by the manager, Arne Slot. There’s a very good feeling there, but it remains to be seen whether Liverpool will choose Dumfries as their main priority target or not.”
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With more than 400 senior club appearances and 71 Netherlands caps to his name, Dumfries is a seasoned operator at a high level in Europe, and adding a player of his experience to the Liverpool squad would go some way to making up for the loss of that commodity from the exits of Mo Salah and Andy Robertson.
A recent tactical analysis from Breaking The Lines lauded his ‘relentless engine’ and his ‘explosiveness’ when driving forward along the right flank, boasting a combination of pace and power, along with an ‘ability to change games through sheer force of will’.
However, what Liverpool need most at right-back is someone reliable in terms of their availability, and that’s where the 30-year-old falls down, having had several injury absences over the past three years and missing three months of this season with an ankle problem (Transfermarkt).
The Reds already have two excellent options in Frimpong and Bradley, and the only reason they’d need to consider recruiting in that position is because of the injury issues of that duo. Based on his track record, Dumfries wouldn’t be an antidote to that dilemma.
Right now we can’t envisage LFC pushing particularly hard to sign the 30-year-old, but if he were to become a tempting market opportunity, that might yet prompt Richard Hughes to take affirmative action. Let’s see what transpires over the coming weeks and months.