Liverpool work needed to hold off Juventus transfer interest in highly-rated defender: report

Liverpool manager Arne Slot
Arne Slot is yet to welcome any new signings to Anfield (Image credit: Getty Images)

Liverpool are weighing up their transfer options when it comes to RB Leipzig defender Mo Simakan, according to reports coming out of Germany - but there would be quite some work for them to do to get a deal done before the transfer deadline next Friday.

Leipzig-based journalist Philipp Hinze writes that Simakan is ‘on Liverpool’s list’, with Juventus also keeping an eye on the defender’s situation.

Capable of playing it either right-back or centre-back, Simikan’s FBRef profile credits him with impressive stats at both ends of the field – although his dual role means that comparing him either with other centre-backs or other full-backs on statistics alone can create a misleading impression. 

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Liverpool looking at Mo Simikan but yet to make formal approach to RB Leipzig as Juventus watch on

Simikan has been at RB Leipzig for the past three years after making the move from Strasbourg as a 21-year-old, and has played and increasingly important role for the ambitious German club.

Hinze adds that the former French youth international is by no means desperate to leave Leipzig, but that he would keep an open mind about any potential moves that might come his way.

A big-name club like Liverpool or Juventus would of course be attractive to most players in his situation…though not all, as the Reds found out with Martin Zubimendi earlier this summer.

With no official approach yet made for Simakan’s services, the suggestion is that the defender is just one name on Liverpool’s longlist as they continue to hunt for their first new arrival of the summer.

New manager Arne Slot is still yet to greet any new signings through the door at Kirkby, with the transfer window set to close at 11pm next Friday, August 30.

Liverpool ran out two-goal winners away to newly-promoted Ipswich Town in their Premier League opener last weekend and will host Brentford on Sunday afternoon.

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Steven Chicken

Steven Chicken has been working as a football writer since 2009, taking in stints with Football365 and the Huddersfield Examiner. Steven still covers Huddersfield Town home and away for his own publication, WeAreTerriers.com. Steven is a two-time nominee for Regional Journalist of the Year at the prestigious British Sports Journalism Awards, making the shortlist in 2020 and 2023.