Liverpool are poised to take the next step in their midfield rebuild after completing the signing of Alexis Mac Allister from Brighton & Hove Albion earlier this month.
An absence of Champions League football did not deter Mac Allister from moving to Merseyside. The Argentina World Cup winner has signed a five-year contract at Anfield.
Khephren Thuram of OGC Nice in France's Ligue 1 is near the top of the Reds' midfield shortlist, while the ECHO understands Celta Vigo's Gabri Veiga is also being assessed after an excellent campaign in La Liga that saw him score 11 times.
Ryan Gravenberch of Bayern Munich has been a long-time target, but much rests on the plans of new manager Thomas Tuchel, with the pair set to sit down later this summer. Manu Kone of Borussia Monchengladbach is another under consideration after an impressive showing in Germany last term.
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And in some non-transfer news, Liverpool revealed that Luis Diaz will take the No.7 shirt ahead of the 2023/24 season. The Colombia forward will switch from the No.23 shirt he has worn since arriving from FC Porto in January 2022 prior to the start of the new campaign.
With this in mind, the ECHO has taken a look at the shirt numbers available to those who could join the Reds this summer. With Naby Keita and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain both leaving, numbers 8 and 15 will all be available.
Roberto Firmino is another whose Reds career comes to an end this summer. This will leave the number 9 free for the first time since 2016, when he took over the iconic Liverpool shirt number following the departure of Christian Benteke.
Arthur Melo will also relinquish the number 29 at the end of his loan deal at Anfield. Much of the 30s, 40s, 50s and 60s are available, with Joel Matip, Stefan Bajcetic, Rhys Williams and Nat Phillips occupying 32, 43, 46 and 47, respectively.
Full list of numbers available: 8, 9, 12, 15, 16, 23, 24, 25, 27, 29, 30, 31, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 44, 45, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58, 59, 60, 61, 63, 64, 65, 67, 68, 69, 70, 71, 72, 73, 74, 75, 76, 77, 78, 79, 80, 81, 82, 83, 84, 85, 87, 89, 90, 91, 92, 93, 94, 95, 96, 97, 98, 99.
