Liverpool have turned down an £11million bid from Napoli for Alberto Moreno but their interest in the Spanish left-back throws up a potentially intriguing situation for the Reds.

Earlier this month, Gianluca Di Marzio revealed the Merseyside club were interested in Gli Azzurri's in demand full-back Faouzi Ghoulam. The 26-year-old is a long-time Chelsea transfer target and was also linked with a move Manchester United earlier on in the season.

Ghoulam has just one year left on his contract meaning this summer represents the last opportunity for the club to cash in and give funds to Maurizio Sarri to strengthen his squad in order to challenge Juventus for the Scudetto.

Reports suggest the player wants £40,000-per-week while the Serie A side's latest offer is closer to £30,000. Negotiations have hit a brick wall.

In a report for the Times, Paul Joyce claims the Reds turned down a bid for former Sevilla defender Moreno and are holding out for closer to £15million.

Interest in the unwanted left-back is high with two Premier League clubs, Milan neighbours AC and Inter, Napoli and a number of La Liga clubs all courting Moreno.



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So the red half of Merseyside has the opportunity to really kickstart a transfer merry-go-round.

If they have retained their rumoured interest in Napoli's Algerian full-back, then perhaps they could offer money plus Moreno to acquire his services.

Deals such as these involving Premier League clubs are rare but over recent summers Liverpool have become a little more savvy in the market.

They’ve introduced sell-on clauses and buy-back options in deals. A cash plus player offer could be next up on the horizon.

What Ghoulam would offer Liverpool

Since joining Napoli from St. Etienne in 2014, the France-born 26-year-old has steadily developed into one of the finest left-backs in Serie A, and possibly Europe.

Though already a regular feature of the Partenopei’s match day squads, the 2015/16 season was somewhat of a breakout campaign for Ghoulam.

He played 34 of a possible 38 league games under Sarri, helping his team push for the Scudetto before eventually finishing runners-up to champions Juventus.

Perhaps the most striking weapon in Ghoulam’s arsenal is his ability to consistently whip accurate crosses into the box from wide positions.

With the right-footed Lorenzo Insigne the first-choice option on Napoli’s left wing, Ghoulam is regularly tasked with providing width down that flank, over-lapping the Italian international when he cuts inside onto his stronger foot.

He could be tasked with doing similar at Anfield with many expecting Sadio Mané to play on the left and new signing Mohamed Salah occupying the right flank.

The potency and consistency of Ghoulam's delivery from out wide is evidenced by the fact that he finished the season with six assists. And his average of 1.8 accurate crosses per game is the highest of all Serie A full-backs.

Ghoulam is also a tremendous passer, capable of switching play to the opposite wing with a raking 40-yard pass, or picking out the run of an advancing forward with a beautifully timed and weighted through-ball. He could be quite influential with the likes of Roberto Firmino, Mané and Salah ahead of him.

Indeed, only attacking midfielder Jose Callejon (2.1) played more key passes per 90 minutes for Napoli last season than Ghoulam (2).

A lot praise went the way of James Milner who, despite his limitations in a foreign role, still managed to have a positive impact on the team. His use of the ball and his incisive passes into the feet of the talented forward line was hard to ignore.

Yet Ghoulam made more key passes on average than Milner.

This kind of ability to affect play in the final third would be crucial were he to move to Anfield, especially with Liverpool being a possession based side these days.

Jürgen Klopp's 4-3-3 formation morphed into somewhat of a 3-4-4 when his team were in possession. He relies on his full-backs to create the width in his system, almost playing as wingers.

The German definitely views them more as midfielders and Milner is often heavily involved in play, averaging 60.1 passes per game. Ghoulam would be used to this having averaged just five passes fewer than the former Manchester City man last season per 90 minutes.

Ghoulam seems to tick all of the boxes for a Klopp left-back and he wouldn't cost as much as rumoured Liverpool transfer target Benjamin Mendy. The highly rated Monaco man is reportedly heading to Man City for £40million with the Reds being priced out of a potential deal.

If Liverpool were able to negotiate such a deal then they would have played a blinder this transfer window.