Express. Home of the Daily and Sunday Express.
Liverpool’s summer transfer swoop in doubt: Real Madrid steal march on star winger
LIVERPOOL face an uphill battle to land Bayer Leverkusen midfielder Julian Brandt in the summer, according to reports.
Julian Brandt is attracting interest from Liverpool
The star is thought to be on Jurgen Klopp’s wishlist as he seeks to strengthen his squad.
Klopp is believed to be assessing a number of players, including Chelsea youngster Dominic Solanke.
But according to the Daily Mail, interest in Brandt is mounting.
Real Madrid, the report claims, dispatched scouts last night to watch Brandt in Champions League action for Leverkusen against Atletico Madrid.
Despite making a good impression, Brandt couldn’t prevent his side falling to a 4-2 defeat in the first leg of their last-16 tie.
Zinedine Zidane sent scouts to watch Julian Brandt
The report also suggests Leicester youngster Demarai Gray is also on Klopp’s radar.
When asked about his summer transfer plans last week, Klopp said: “We are in talks with different people - players, agents, all that stuff.
“Not a lot of decisions have been already made at this point. Why should they at this stage?
“But we are on the way. At the end I'm sure we will have a really good squad.”