Liverpool chief scout spotted watching summer target – Contract may help keep price down

One of Liverpool’s chief scouts was spotted watching PSV Eindhoven star Johan Bakayoko earlier this year ahead of a potential move this summer.

That’s according to Eindhovens Dagblad journalists Rik Elfrink, who reports that Liverpool may be able to secure something of a bargain deal for the forward.

Elfrink reports that Bakayoko is on the lists in scouting departments across Europe after another impressive campaign that’s seen him score 14 goals and register 14 assists in 48 games in all competitions.

Liverpool are ‘definitely among’ the clubs who are interested in him, although it’s unclear whether they’ve progressed any further than scouting him at this point.

For now, they’ve just been watching his performances and one of Liverpool’s chief scouts was spotted watching PSV’s 5-1 win over Ajax in April, game in which Bakayoko ‘played excellently’. That won’t have gone unnoticed by those watching.

There is also the potential for a bargain deal for Liverpool, with Elfrink explaining that he currently only has two years remaining on his current deal at PSV.

That means the huge transfer fee many had predicted he would bring in this summer may not actually be achievable. Indeed, PSV aren’t expecting that either.

Thus, whether the Dutch club can bring in a similar sum to the fee Liverpool paid for Cody Gakpo, which was €42m, in January 2022.

It’s a case of ‘wait and see’ on that front, although the growing belief is that if any club does move for Bakayoko, the fee will not be in that region.