Liverpool‘s pursuit of Khephren Thuram this summer has apparently been thwarted, with Nice now preferring to keep the midfielder for another season.
Last season, the 22-year-old played 35 Ligue 1 matches for Le Gym, scoring two goals and giving six assists from centre midfield.
Thuram last played club football on May 13 when Nice lost 2-0 to Strasbourg. He is now on international duty with France Under-21s, who are aiming to win the European Championship at that age level.
On Thursday, Sylvain Ripoll’s men began their Group D campaign with a 3-0 victory over Italy, a game in which Thuram played 65 minutes before being replaced by Lyon midfielder Rayan Cherki.
According to the Daily Mail, Nice want to keep Thuram for another season, which might have major repercussions for Liverpool’s transfer window.
Despite signing Alexis MacAllister from Brighton & Hove Albion earlier this month, Jurgen Klopp is still looking to bolster his team’s engine room ahead of the new season.
A number of midfielders have left Liverpool, including Naby Keita and veteran James Milner, with the 37-year-old coming to the Amex as the Seagulls hope to compete in the Europa League under Roberto De Zerbi next season.
Khephren Thuram to Liverpool
Thuram is not the Merseyside club’s only midfield target, with the Reds apparently holding out for a £47 million bid for Real Madrid teenager Aurelien Tchouameni, though Los Blancos are expected to let the Frenchman depart for closer to £68 million.
According to the report, the Nice midfielder will not make a decision on his future until after his international duty with France concludes this summer, which means Liverpool may have to wait until the middle of July to find out if the player is interested in a move to Anfield.
Liverpool are also rumoured to be interested in making Romeo Lavia the next player to follow the well-worn path from Southampton to Merseyside, with Klopp’s men debating whether to compete with Arsenal for the Belgium international.
The 19-year-old impressed for the Saints during his first season as a regular starter in the Premier League, but his efforts were in vain as the South Coast club was relegated to the Championship.
Thuram is unquestionably the more experienced midfielder when compared to Lavia, having appeared 138 times for Nice since signing on a free transfer from Monaco in the summer of 2019.
The player has only made one senior game for France, a one-minute cameo against the Netherlands, but a move to the Premier League might boost his prospects of becoming a fixture in Didier Deschamps’ team sooner rather than later.
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