Liverpool identify the PL midfielder they hope to sign as Emre Can's replacement

Liverpool will look to bolster their midfield in the summer if Emre Can does indeed join Juventus on a free transfer.
The 24-year-old German has just months remaining on his current deal at Anfield - and doesn't appear close to agreeing an extension.

Can has been a regular feature in the Liverpool XI this season but has been heavily linked with a summer move to Juventus.
Liverpool have already agreed a deal for Leipzig midfielder Naby Keita but Jurgen Klopp will surely look to make another signing if Can heads for the exit door.

"Sometimes a player just wants to sit out his contract," Klopp said about the Can situation. "That's not cool for the club, but there are moments in which you have to accept it.

"And as long as the player behaves like Emre does, then I have absolutely nothing to complain about. He gives everything he has and identifies with the club."
Can joined Liverpool from Bayer Leverkusen in 2014 and has made 112 Premier League appearances for the Reds.

Liverpool identify Can replacement

The summer transfer window shuts three weeks earlier than usual and Klopp is already considering what business needs to be done.



According to French newspaper L'Equipe, Liverpool "love" Southampton midfielder Mario Lemina.

The 24-year-old Gabonese international joined the Saints from Juventus for £15.4m in August 2017 - and has already made a big impression on the Anfield bosses.

Lemina has only made 22 appearances for Southampton but is reportedly in Liverpool's "viewfinder" ahead of the summer transfer window.

The versatile midfielder would not be the first player to move from Southampton to Liverpool.



Virgil van Dijk, Sadio Mane, Adam Lallana, Dejan Lovren, Nathaniel Clyne and Rickie Lambert all swapped the South Coast for Merseyside in recent years.

L'Equipe note that Arsenal are also interested in Lemina.
Despite his likely summer exit, Can is still focused on the task ahead.

"Each game is like a final," said the German, as per Liverpool's official website. "We have to look from each game to each game and now on Saturday it will really be a very tough game against Newcastle.

"I think we have a good basis now for the end of the season. We are third in the Premier League, we are still in the Champions League and I think we are in a very good position.



"But we have to push on and we have to keep going and play like we have in the last few games."
Would Lemina be a worthy replacement? Let us know what you think by leaving a comment below.