The departure of Sadio Mane to Bayern Munich will leave a large gap in Liverpool's attacking group. It is a gap that boss Jurgen Klopp may want to fill despite the addition of Darwin Nunez, given the striker's lack of experience at the top level.
One man who they could target to do that is Real Madrid star Marco Asensio, who has entered the final year of his contract. But Los Blancos are unwilling to match his demands for a large increase in his salary, opening the door to an exit.
Liverpool are one of the clubs understood to be interested in signing the winger, who has helped Madrid to win three La Liga titles. And they will look with delight at comments made by David Villa about Asensio five years ago, as the Madrid star was attempting to establish himself in the Spanish national team.
"We have to see [Asensio] to enjoy him. He's spectacular and he has had an incredible evolution in the last few months. We'll enjoy him as a Spanish player for many years. He's making a case to be a starter in Madrid - but that's not up to me, it's up to the coach," Villa said in 2017.
Liverpool can avoid Sadio Mane pitfalls with move for "spectacular" Real Madrid star (Image: Getty Images)
"I have seen very well the evolution of the team at this time. It has huge talent with many great players. We all said that we had to have patience after winning the World Cup and that streak of five or six years. The quality of the squad now is amazing."
Mane is close to completing his £35m move to Bayern Munich, with the Bundesliga champions having finally agreed a fee with Liverpool. The Senegal international scored 23 goals last season, helping the Reds to win the FA Cup and Carabao Cup.
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Marco Asensio could be the perfect replacement for Mane (Image: Getty Images)
Asensio meanwhile, hit 12 goals and notched two assists in his 31 appearances in all competitions. He played across the forward line as Los Blancos won La Liga and the Champions League, becoming a regular feature of Carlo Ancelotti's side.
It is expected that Madrid will demand a fee in the region of £52m for the 26-year-old, though they could accept closer to £43m. The Reds will be battling Arsenal, AC Milan and Juventus among others if they did decide to firm up their interest in Asensio.