Why Liverpool could hold trump card in five-team race to seal £95m double transfer raid - plus the stars being chased by Premier League rivals this summer: LIVERPOOL CONFIDENTIAL

Liverpool are plotting a £95million double-swoop on Bournemouth this summer as the Reds anticipate a busy transfer market with the aim of strengthening their squad.

Left back Milos Kerkez is a top target and central defender Dean Huijsen, 20, is also a player of high interest despite fierce competition from Chelsea and others.

The Premier League champions-elect held an important recruitment meeting last week and discussed their main ambitions for the summer window.

Confidential has reported previously that a big summer awaits and it would be no surprise if as many as four or five new signings arrive.

Huijsen is definitely on the list to improve the centre-half department - but Liverpool are not alone in their pursuit as Chelsea, Arsenal and Newcastle have all been credited with an interest in the Spain international.

Sources have told Confidential that Chelsea are the front-runners to sign him but Liverpool are still in the picture.

Bournemouth duo Dean Huijsen (left) and Milos Kerkez are both wanted by Liverpool

The defender turned 20 earlier this month and made his Spain debut, pledging his allegiance to them after being born in Amsterdam and playing for Netherlands Under 21s.

It is understood Huijsen had admirers at Barcelona and Bayern Munich as a youngster but instead signed for Juventus before moving on loan to Roma. He moved to Bournemouth for £12.6m last summer and the Cherries inserted a £50m release clause.

Scouts have noted how Huijsen has old-school defensive traits but is also a modern-like player who is comfortable in possession.

Real Madrid have also been credited with an interest and his father, Don Huijsen, has shared newspaper reports from Spain linking his son with Los Blancos on Instagram.

But Liverpool like Huijsen as well as left back Kerkez, the Hungarian who is good mates with Reds midfielder Dominik Szoboszlai.

Kerkez will be available for around £45m this summer and Confidential has reported before how Arne Slot’s team are keen to upgrade that area of their defence. Andy Robertson is 31 while Kostas Tsimikas is perhaps not a long-term ready-made replacement.

Aside from captain Virgil van Dijk, all of Liverpool’s central defenders have slightly uncertain futures.

Ibrahima Konate is out of contract next summer with zero progress made in recent months in terms of an extension, while Joe Gomez and Jarell Quansah also have external suitors.

If Huijsen ends up elsewhere, it feels like this is the summer for Liverpool to upgrade the centre half department. Everton’s Jarrad Branthwaite has previously been mentioned as a potential target.

Liverpool also want a striker with Darwin Nunez’s future uncertain and a midfielder could also be targeted.

Huijsen has old-school defensive traits but is also a modern-like player comfortable on the ball

Kerkez will be available for around £45m this summer, with Arne Slot keen to improve that area

…and Bournemouth could strike back with Reds raid

Sticking on the theme of Liverpool and Bournemouth doing business, the Cherries are eyeing a number of Reds stars to strengthen their squad.

For profit and sustainability rules, straight swap deals are not common these days so any potential moves to Bournemouth would be separate to interest in Milos Kerkez and Dean Huijsen.

But Bournemouth chiefs are keeping close tabs on several Liverpool men including Caoimhin Kelleher, Harvey Elliott and Ben Doak.

Ireland No 1 Kelleher has been vocal in his desire to move on and be a first-choice keeper elsewhere with Alisson in no rush to leave and Valencia shot-stopper Giorgi Mamardashvili joining the club this summer.

Caoimhin Kelleher could head to Bournemouth this summer as he seeks first-team football

Current Bournemouth keeper Kepa Arrizabalaga is on loan from Chelsea and has an uncertain future.

As for Elliott, the midfielder has not given up on 'making it' at Liverpool but the England Under 21 star has barely featured this season after a nasty foot injury saw him miss two months in the autumn. He will not be forced out of the door but many teams are interested in signing him.

Doak saw his stint at Middlesbrough cut short but he was perhaps Liverpool's most exciting loanee this season, thriving under Michael Carrick at the Championship club who have tailed off in their play-off push since his injury.

Bournemouth and Crystal Palace are among those keen on signing him this summer, while soon-to-be relegated Ipswich also expressed an interest in January. Again, Liverpool like the Scotsman and would need a decent price to sanction a permanent exit.

Harvey Elliott is another who could move to the south coast due to limited action at Liverpool

A Foxes hunt for tickets

A number of home tickets were cancelled by Leicester City on Sunday after they had ‘reason to believe’ that they were purchased by Liverpool fans.

With Arsenal playing before Liverpool last Sunday, there was a slim chance that Arne Slot’s side could secure the Premier League title and as a result, away end tickets were selling for more than £300 on the black market.

That resulted in numerous Liverpool fans taking advantage of the fact that Leicester were struggling to sell out their own tickets and purchasing tickets in the home end.

In an email sent by Leicester City and seen by Mail Sport, the club wrote: ‘We reserve the right to cancel any tickets we suspect have been purchased for use by visiting supporters.’

Liverpool could have won the Premier League title at Leicester if results had gone their way

Missing Mo

Liverpool will have to plan for life without Mohamed Salah next season despite the fact the Egyptian has signed a new two-year deal.

This is because of the month-long Africa Cup of Nations which runs from December 21 until January 18.

If Egypt were to do well, that would see him miss a fair chunk of Liverpool games. Going off this term's fixtures, missing those dates would have seen Salah absent for eight matches - probably 10 if you factor in that he would be arriving a few days earlier and having some time off after.

There are a lot of 'ifs', 'buts' and 'maybes' involved in this but given the star man will be absent for such a significant part of the season, it feels like a must for Liverpool to sign a capable deputy this summer.

Federico Chiesa has not yet lived up to the bill in that regard.

Mohamed Salah is set to miss a large part of next season due to Africa Cup of Nations duty

That man Nat deserves a pat

A pat on the back must go to Nat Phillips for this week's loan watch.

The cult hero struggled to make the first XI under Paul Warne at Derby but since John Eustace has come in, the former Liverpool defender has been a mainstay.

And Derby are looking good for safety now after their 3-1 win over promotion-chasing West Brom on Easter Monday. In the last 10 games, they have won five, drawn two and lost three - which is decent form for a relegation-threatened side.

Phillips has been at the heart of that but his side have a huge six-pointer on Saturday at Hull. That game is 20th vs 21st and a win would be huge for Derby.

But another loan to the Championship for another Liverpool star is not working out. Poor Kaide Gordon has played just 296 minutes all season across stints at Norwich (terminated in January) and now Portsmouth. He has not even been in the squad for the last three Pompey games.

Meanwhile, one former Liverpool academy graduate Cameron Brannagan is continuing to go well at Oxford United and scored one of the goals of the weekend with a long-range effort against Cardiff.

After leaving the Reds in 2018, Brannagan, now 28, has played 317 times for the U's and led them to the heady heights of the Championship. It proves that even those who do not make it at the very top level can have a glittering career elsewhere.

Nat Phillips' (right) fine defensive displays have eased relegation-threatened Derby's fears

Young Reds setup City clash

Liverpool's Under 21s have set up a tantalising play-off clash with Manchester City in Premier League 2 after their draw with Aston Villa last weekend.

The two sides will lock horns at City's JOIE Stadium on Friday night in a one-legged play-off between 1st and 16th in the league. The top 16 teams qualify for the play-offs and then a knockout tournament starts to find the winners.

And boss Barry Lewtas has hailed the improvement of highly-rated star Rio Ngumoha as one who is maturing and evolving over the course of his first season at Liverpool after his summer move from Chelsea.

'He played really well and he could have had a hat-trick,' said Lewtas of the two-goal teenager. 'He is finding himself in recent weeks, we need to develop players and the evolution of him certainly over the last six or so weeks in terms of the positions he is now getting himself into.

'He has been working really hard in training on that and it's nice that with the play-offs to come we have someone who can score some goals for us.'

Meanwhile, Under 18s boss Marc Bridge-Wilkinson will leave the club at the end of the season after 10 years at the club.

He has been credited with the development of Jarell Quansah, Conor Bradley and Tyler Morton, who are all first-team players now.

Rio Ngumoha is developing nicely at Liverpool as their Under-21s bid to win Premier League 2

Red Riddle

Welcome back to Red Riddle.

Last week, I asked you to name the 10 players to have featured for both Leicester and Liverpool.

The answers were: Pegguy Arphexad, Conor Coady, Stan Collymore, Emile Heskey, Jack Hobbs, Chris Kirkland, Paul Konchesky, Lee Peltier, Jay Spearing, Danny Ward.

Now, if Luis Diaz plays on Sunday it will be the Colombian's 100th Premier League appearance – the 60th player to do that. But how many of those 60 are non-European like him? Name them. There are nine to get.

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