Liverpool are reportedly among several clubs from England and Europe keeping tabs on a teenage prodigy who could be snapped up for a modest price.
According to CaughtOffside, the Reds have been monitoring Malick Junior Yalcouye, an 18-year-old midfielder who’s catching the eye at IFK Gothenburg in Sweden.
Brentford, Gent, Ajax and PSV Eindhoven are also believed to have watched the Ivorian starlet, who only moved to Europe at the start of February and is reportedly available for a fee in the region of €8m-€10m (£6.9m-£8.6m).
Yalcouye has made 11 appearances for his current club, scoring once in the Swedish top flight from a central midfield position (Transfermarkt).
That’s quite a small sample size on which to make an informed transfer decision, but the 18-year-old must be doing plenty right to have so many reported suitors keeping an eye on him, especially when that list includes someone of Liverpool’s stature.
Even if the Reds were to clinch a deal for him in the coming months, it seems unlikely that he’d be ready to go straight into the first team. Instead, he could be loaned out to some European clubs in order to gain valuable experience, similar to what LFC did with another African youngster in Taiwo Awoniyi when he was on the books at Anfield.
The Nottingham Forest striker never actually made a first-team appearance for us, but if we’re to win the race for Yalcouye’s signature, hopefully he can put himself in a position to make a telling impact on Merseyside furher down the line.
For now, we expect that Liverpool’s recruitment team will continue to monitor his progress in Sweden and, if they very much like what they see, potentially make a move for him then – if one of his other suitors hasn’t beaten them to the punch in the meantime.
