Liverpool look to agree deal for ANOTHER Dutch player | OneFootball

Liverpool’s Dutch connection

There are already four of Slot’s countrymen in Liverpool’s first team, with Virgil van Dijk, Cody Gakpo, Ryan Gravenberch and Jeremie Frimpong all representing the Netherlands at international level.

Liverpool’s squad is stacked with Dutch talent, in fact there are more Dutch internationals than any other nation, and the club continue to be linked with compatriots of the head coach.

Late in this winter window a deal fell through for Lutsharel Geertruida, a Dutch international who also played for Slot at his former club Feyenoord.

Now, the Premier League champions are once again being linked with a Dutchman, and this time it’s AZ Alkmaar’s Kees Smit.

DAVEOCKOP are reporting that Liverpool have opened talks with both club and player, and that a deal will likely cost around £30 million.

Why do Liverpool target so many Dutch players?

As well as Geertruida and Smit, Denzel Dumfries was reportedly the subject of interest from Slot’s side late in the winter window.

All the players mentioned above are in the frame at Liverpool on merit, it would be naïve to suggest they are being targeted purely because they are Dutch, but it does feel more than just a coincidence.

Smit, for example, is genuinely one of the most sought-after young midfielders in Europe and it should be no surprise that Liverpool are in for him.

Three of Liverpool’s four Dutchman were at the club before Slot arrived, with only Frimpong joining since, so it isn’t as if the head coach has singlehandedly built the Reds’ Dutch contingent.

Liverpool targeting Dutch players this winter may simply be a case of trying to bring in players that Slot already knows, and will be able to communicate with in his native tongue, in order to turn around a struggling team.

Only time will tell if Arne Slot is set on recruiting as many Dutch players as possible, but the reality is likely a lot simpler.