Revealed: Liverpool have key advantage over Man Utd in race to sign €40m playmaker
Liverpool, Manchester United, Tottenham and Inter Milan are all interested in a potential transfer deal for Benfica’s central midfield playmaker Orkun Kokcu.
The talented Turkey international could be available this summer as sources close to the situation have informed CaughtOffside that Benfica would likely accept around €40m to let him go.
And although Man Utd, Spurs and Inter are all keen on Kokcu, CaughtOffside have been told that the player himself would prefer a move to Liverpool.
The 24-year-old worked under Arne Slot at Feyenoord and they’d both be keen on a reunion at Anfield if possible.
One source also mentioned interest from Kokcu’s native Turkey, with Galatasaray, Fenerbahce and Besiktas monitoring the situation, but considered less realistic destinations for now.
Do Liverpool need Orkun Kokcu?
Liverpool already have a lot of good options in the central midfield department, including the likes of Alexis Mac Allister and Dominik Szoboszlai who play a similar kind of creative role to Kokcu.
The former Feyenoord man can also operate further forward, but then there would be competition from new signing Florian Wirtz.
If this deal does go ahead, it would be interesting to see how Slot fits Kokcu in, but it’s worth emphasising that nothing appears to be advanced for now.
Could Kokcu be tempted by Man United?
United would surely be able to offer Kokcu more playing time, so it will be interesting to see if this ends up being a concrete option.
Kokcu might understandably favour a reunion with Slot, but he’ll also surely want to ensure he plays regularly wherever he goes next.
While one source claimed that LFC was the player’s strong preference, another also made it clear that the plan is to “explore a move to the Premier League” in general.
That could give United hope, as they could do well to bring Kokcu in as a top young upgrade on the departing Christian Eriksen.
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