Mostly linked with Southampton players this summer having already signed Rickie Lambert and Adam Lallana, Liverpool are reportedly set to look away from the south-coast club for one of their next moves. According to the Guardian, Atletico Madrid’s Javier Manquillo is a target of Brendan Rodgers as he attempts to address his side’s defensive problems.
Only 20 years of age and relatively inexperienced, the right-back may seem like an odd choice of defender for the Reds to be pursuing. Manquillo, though, is seen as having a bright future and is therefore very highly rated, with Arsenal rumoured to be amongst his other suitors.
His current club incredibly overcame the duopoly of Real Madrid and Barcelona by winning the La Liga title last season, as well as reaching the Champions League final where they went within minutes of defeating their city rivals. Although Atletico were not able to lift the European Cup in the end, it was still a fantastic year in their history and one that has made the world take notice.
Unfortunately for Manquillo, an injury disrupted his campaign and he barely featured in the Madrid side’s enormous success. That, however, does not appear to have affected the youngster’s chances of moving to the Premier League.