Report: Liverpool identify surprise €25m transfer to replace star player who could leave

Liverpool have reportedly identified a surprise name as a new transfer target to potentially replace Trent Alexander-Arnold at right-back this summer.

Alexander-Arnold is nearing the end of his contract at Anfield, and it seems highly likely now that he’ll be leaving on a free transfer.

BBC Sport have been among the numerous outlets pretty much saying the same thing – that Alexander-Arnold’s potential move to Real Madrid is at an advanced stage.

Liverpool will need a replacement for such an important player, unless they promote Conor Bradley to first choice right-back.

And now the latest to be linked with LFC is Rayo Vallecano right-back Andre Ratiu, who is also on Barcelona’s radar, according to Spanish outlet Fichajes.

Is Andrei Ratiu good enough to be Liverpool’s first-choice right-back?

Ratiu is not necessarily a name that many Liverpool fans will be familiar with, but he’s impressed in La Liga this season.

The 26-year-old Romania international has two goals and three assists in the Spanish top flight so far, and one imagines he could get even better numbers with better players around him at a club like Liverpool.

Fichajes state that Ratiu could leave for €25m, so that could make him a bit of an underrated bargain on the market at the moment.

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Still, Liverpool are looking to replace Alexander-Arnold, and that’s surely going to require spending a lot of money on a big name.

Liverpool.com have been among the outlets to link Bayer Leverkusen’s Jeremie Frimpong as a target for that role, and he seems like a more obvious fit.

Sometimes, however, you can see clubs find undiscovered gems out there who won’t cost a fortune, so perhaps Ratiu is someone the club have done their homework on, coming to the conclusion that his signing would be worth the gamble.