Andoni Iraola eyes €50m star as Liverpool's next target

Andoni Iraola eyes €50m star as Liverpool's next target Andoni Iraola lost his first game as Liverpool manager on Sunday. The Reds were held to a 3-0 defeat against Manchester City with the game only going one way after Ryan Gravenberch was sent off. Most fans thought that Liverpool would be up for a fight after all the news that has emerged about Manchester City recently but, that was clearly not the case. Instead, the Anfield lost lost their unbeaten run and now find themselves nine points behind first-place. Finishing fifth in England's top flight was bad enough last term so, if Liverpool don't buck their ideas up soon, Fenway Sports Group are going to have to make even more changes to their squad. In fact, it already feels like some of those plans are in place with yet another player being linked with a move. Pierre Kalulu has re-entered Liverpool's shortlist in their right-back search Last term, right-back was a major problem for Liverpool. Jeremie Frimpong and Conor Bradley spent most of the season injured which resulted in Dominik Szoboszlai, Curtis Jones and Wataru Endo all being used there. Of course, when Joe Gomez was fit, he was the one who filled in but, since he's still so unreliable, Liverpool need to have more players than they think at the back. This is where Ronald Araujo came in and, while he's been doing a stellar job, his option to buy is a tad steep for Liverpool. If the Reds were to sign him, he'd cost them around £47 million, which, for a then 28-year-old, would be a lot of money. So, that's why these latest reports from TuttoMercatoWeb about Liverpool's transfer plans are understandable. " Jeremie Frimpong was then brought in, but the consensus in the Melwood offices is that a reinforcement is needed in the position," they wrote . "This is why Juventus' Pierre Kalulu is among the Reds' shortlisted names . Kalulu is popular for his versatility and technical and athletic qualities, and is among the top names on Liverpool's radar. "He's not the only one: Roma's Brazilian Wesley , who has been closely monitored in the Giallorossi's recent league outings, is also in the mix." Pierre Kalulu is basically a younger version of Ronald Araujo It should now be clear to fans that Liverpool see right-back as one of their main issues. At the moment, the club may have Araujo and Frimpong to choose from but, with Araujo set to leave and Frimpong not really being a right-back , they have nowhere near enough depth. That's why it isn't all that surprising to see Pierre Kalulu being linked with a move once again. Throughout the 2026-27 summer transfer window, a fee worth around €50 million (£42.25 million) was wanted by Juventus for the Frenchman and, even though they're now trying to tie him down to a new deal, with how desperate they are for money, a fee even cheaper than that could end up being humoured. Kalulu can play as a centre-back or a right-back and, since he's around a year or so younger than Araujo, he may represent better value to Liverpool in the long run. At the moment, it's all just a guessing game about what could happen but, in the grand scheme of things, there isn't really going to be a better option than Kalulu to emerge.