Arne Slot's Liverpool reunion in jeopardy as Man Utd ready to drop £60m bomb 'immediately'

Arne Slot may need to act quickly if he is to bring one of his former players, Teun Koopmeiners, to Liverpool, as Manchester United are reportedly prepared to slap serious money on the table in an effort to gazump the Reds.

The Premier League duo aren’t the only teams keen on Atalanta star Koopmeiners, who has just hit double figures in Serie A from midfield for the second consecutive season. Juventus are also in the mix, and staying in Serie A would reportedly be the 26-year-old’s preferred option.

However, financial constraints mean Juve would not be able to fork out more than £34million. According to Calciomercato, United would be willing to pay up to £60m ‘immediately’.

That could spark serious concern at Anfield, where senior figures are also understood to be keen on Koopmeiners. There would be no doubts about chemistry between the player and new manager Slot, as the pair previously worked together at AZ Alkmaar.

In fact, Koopmeiners enjoyed one of his best seasons when Slot was at the helm, notching 16 goals across all competitions in 2019/20. Liverpool’s lifeline may lie in Atalanta’s reported preference to wait until after Euro 2024 to cash in.

The Italian side feel that a good tournament with the Netherlands would drive up Koopmeiners’ price tag even further. The Dutchman has notched 21 caps for his country and will fancy his chances of adding to that haul in Germany.

Koopmeiners was a goal machine during his time with AZ, where he found the net 43 times in 154 games. And any reservations about his ability to translate that to a top European league have been dispelled over the last three years at Atalanta.

Alongside scouring the market for transfer options with sporting director Richard Hughes and chief of football Michael Edwards, Slot will be desperate to secure the futures of three Liverpool regulars before the start of next season.

Mohamed Salah, Virgil van Dijk and Trent Alexander-Arnold each have only one year remaining on their Liverpool contracts, and all three may need convincing that Slot is the right man to take the team forward following Jurgen Klopp’s exit.

The Reds have suddenly become an unknown quantity in the wake of their long-serving manager’s departure. They sustained a Premier League title pursuit for the majority of last season, but ultimately fell away and finished nine points behind champions Manchester City.