For this summer at least, Liverpool’s pursuit of Crystal Palace midfielder Cheick Doucouré may be over.
According to the Evening Standard, a move for Doucouré looks increasingly unlikely as Palace holds firm in its valuation. The Eagles apparently want $89m (£70m/€82m) for the Malian international, a fee which Liverpool has deemed excessive.
This begs the question: who could else could Liverpool target before the deadline to ensure it doesn’t have to gamble on $21m (£16m/€19m) veteran Wataru Endō as its primary holding midfielder?
Well, one potential candidate is Bayer Leverkusen’s Exequiel Palacios. The Athletic reports that Liverpool has shown interest in the 24-year-old, and while the club’s managing director for sport, Simon Rolfes, has publicly ruled out a transfer this summer, there’s time for the Reds to test that stance by making an offer.
Palacios joined Leverkusen from River Plate in January 2020, having previously won the Copa Libertadores — South America’s equivalent of the Champions League — with the Argentine outfit in 2018.
Across his three full seasons with the Werkself, he’s averaged just 12.6 league starts, though he set a new personal best and cleared the 50 per cent barrier for the first time last year when he made the XI for 19 games. This is less a reflection of his position in the pecking order, and more his injury history, with 53 recorded absences between the summer of 2020 and the end of May
Fit and healthy for the beginning of the new campaign, he’s been lining up alongside former Arsenal star Granit Xhaka in a midfield two for manager Xabi Alonso.
At international level, Palacios was part of the Argentina squad that won the World Cup at the end of last year, making three substitute appearances, and he also figured four times when it won the Copa América 18 months earlier. As such, you’d imagine teammate Alexis Mac Allister could be instrumental in any move to Anfield.
“The World Cup helped with his confidence,” former Liverpool icon Alonso said in March, via the official Leverkusen website. “When you win that and hold the trophy in your hands, you want more.
“Pala has been playing at a very high level for two months. He’s playing with dynamism in attack, with aggression to win the ball back.
“The better he implements our philosophy and the speed of our game, the better the team will be. The team has very much improved with him and the other midfielders. I’m sure Pala will continue to develop as well.”
Journalist Zach Lowy compares Palacios to PSG and Italy superstar Marco Verratti in that he’s ‘comfortable weaving together possession’ but ‘isn’t afraid to get down and dirty’, and the stats justify that assessment.
Smarterscout (via The Athletic) has scored him out of 100 in a whole host of metrics, adjusted for Premier League standard, and his highest of all is 88 for defending intensity, which points to a high-energy style Jürgen Klopp would enjoy. Rated at 78 for ball recoveries and interceptions and 75 for defending impact, he’s an effective off-ball presence who can cover plenty of ground and read the game.
In possession, he scores well for both ball retention (68) and link-up play (74), which shows that he’s not just a pure disrupter.
The biggest concern around Palacios at this stage has to be his injury record, so any move would be a risk. But on the field, there’s no denying that he ticks some of the most important boxes for Liverpool, making him a potentially smart Doucouré alternative.