The Champions of England are making their move in the transfer window.
According to reports by The Athletic, Liverpool have seen a £10million bid for Norwich City defender Jamal Lewis rejected. The Reds reportedly offered £8million up-front rising to £10million based on playing incentives, but Norwich value the young defender at double that amount and are frustrated that Liverpool offered such a low fee.
It’s unknown whether or not Liverpool will return with a fresh bid considering the gap in valuation between the two clubs but Lewis is said to be very keen on a move to Anfield and is hopeful that the clubs can find a compromise that will allow him to make the switch.
Jurgen Klopp is desperate for a left-back signing this summer and rightly so. Over the last two league campaigns Andrew Robertson has missed just four games in total and has often been deputised for by ageing midfielder James Milner. Robertson’s form in the last six-months has dropped off with the Scotland international suffering from knocks, but with no natural cover for him Klopp has persisted with him.
Liverpool’s tactics are very focused on creativity from full-back, hence both Robertson and Trent Alexander-Arnold both reaching double figures for assists in each of the last two campaigns. With Robertson’s explosiveness from left-back, it allows Sadio Mane to be the demon he is in front of goal with essentially a free-role from the wing. Milner has never been able to offer that level of threat but Jamal Lewis could help in that regard.
While not the best aerially, Lewis has greet speed and is very comfortable on the ball. He is left-footed naturally which is immediately an upgrade on Milner in that position while he also now has experience of playing at the top level. At only 22 years old, there is plenty of room for improvement and it’s expected that he will have no problem playing Robertson’s understudy to begin with as he looks to learn from Klopp and develop into a top full-back.
Lewis is also a good dribbler considering his position and likes to drive past players with the ball at his feet or play short one-twos to explode into space, something Robertson also enjoys doing.
Stylistically the two options fit each other very well and £20million isn’t an extortionate fee from Norwich for a defender regarded as a top prospect in this market. However for Liverpool, in their current climate, £20million for a back-up left-back from a newly relegated club seems like a step too far. If a compromise can be reached for under £15million then I’m sure Liverpool will take it but if Norwich are adamant that a deal won’t be done for anything less than the asking price then Lewis may be forced to sit and wait in the Championship for another year.
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