Liverpool in 'pole position' to beat Chelsea and Man City to wantaway Premier League star

Suraj Radia

27 Jun 2024 18:00 BST
3 min read

Liverpool, Chelsea and Manchester City are set to battle it out after reports that one of the standout young defenders in the Premier League looks set to leave his club this summer.

Article continues under the video

All three Premier League giants are thought to be keen on bolstering their defence during the transfer window particularly on the left side, resulting in strong competition and overlap in their chosen targets.

One player who has been tracked for many years by Liverpool and City is Rayan Ait-Nouri and both sides could be on red alert following a claim that the left-back will leave Wolves this summer.

EXCLUSIVE: How Chelsea reneging on transfer agreement helped cost them Olise

As FootballTransfers exclusively reported in April, City have already held talks with Wolves regarding a transfer for Ait Nouri, although Wolves’ initial price tag of €70 million appears to have halted negotiations for the time being.

However, Algerian reporter Abdel Hamed, who is understood to have close ties to the player, posted on Twitter that Ait-Nouri ‘will’ leave Wolves this summer, with Liverpool in ‘pole position’ to sign him.

Previous reports from France had stated that Wolves would be more open to selling Ait-Nouri and a fee closer to €45m may be considered, although the player’s former club Angers are though to be due 50% of any fee, which could complicate matters.

© IMAGO - Rayan Ait-Nouri has been admired by many Premier League sides.

Wolves likely to sell one star player this summer

Ait-Nouri has two years remaining on his contract at Molineux, having joined the Wolves in 2021 for €11m following a season on loan.

STATS

Rayan Aït-Nouri

M, D, AM (L)

Wolverhampton

Rayan Aït-Nouri

M, D, AM (L)

Wolverhampton

33

Games
2

Goals
1

Assists

Wolves are thought to have an option to extend Ait-Nouri’s deal for a further 12 months but a sale could be likely, particularly if interest in Pedro Neto fails to materialise.

Neto has been the player most touted to leave Wolves this summer and, while the Portuguese international has interest from Arsenal and Newcastle among other sides, concerns over his injury record has meant a lack of concrete offers for the winger.

Wolves have also fielded interest in captain Max Kilman as well as forward Matheus Cunha but they are reluctant to sell either, meaning Ait-Nouri may be the player to bne sold in order for the club to avoid financial concerns.