Man Utd and Liverpool enter €60m race for former Real Madrid star

Tom Weber

• 9 Jul 2023 14:32 BST
• 3 min read

Manchester United and Liverpool are keeping tabs on Atletico Madrid's Marcos Llorente, according to Spanish media.

Both clubs are still keen on adding another midfielder despite having already made some significant moves in that department. The Red Devils bolstered their centre of the park with the €64.2 million addition of Mason Mount, while the Anfield club have brought in two fresh faces in Alexis Mac Allister and Dominik Szoboszlai for a combined €112m.

Nevertheless, a desire to further strengthen their midfields persists and these two hated rivals could go head to head for the signature of Atletico Madrid's Marcos Llorente, according to Fichajes.

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A product of Real Madrid's academy, the now-28-year-old crossed the city divide and joined Atleti for €30m in 2019 after only making 39 appearances for Los Blancos' senior squad. Now, there is talk that he could make a surprise move to England.

'Farwell anticipated'

The above-mentioned report notes that Llorente has been a valuable asset to Atleti due to his impressive versatility, but Diego Simeone could be keen on offloading him in order to help alleviate some financial issues at the club.

The Argentine's alleged willingness to get rid of the midfielder could furthermore be due to the fact that his performance levels have dropped in recent times, though Fichajes pins the blame on Simeone for playing him out of position.

The Spanish outlet goes so far as to claim that Llorente's 'farewell is anticipated,' but Atleti are said to be demanding as much as €60m, which is an unrealistic asking price by any measure.

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Llorente's Estimated Transfer Value (ETV) has never climbed higher than €52m and has consistently been dropping in recent months, currently sitting at €40.5m

With United strapped for cash and Liverpool having already shelled out significant funds on two midfielders, a move appears unlikely as long as Atleti don't soften their stance.