Young 20-year-old German defender, Armel Bella-Kotchap seems to be on the radar of a lot of European clubs. A prospect like him automatically gets linked to the likes of Liverpool. Rumour has it, that Jurgen Klopp is a fan of the young and upcoming center back as reported by Fichajes.net
Many will argue, and rightly so that the club’s top priority will and should be midfield reinforcements. In addition to Arthur, Liverpool should look to add to their midfield depth either later this season in January or in the coming summer.
That being said, Bella-Kotchap is a solid physical center-back. If he manages to keep his performances as consistent as he did against Aston Villa, Klopp and many other top managers will certainly consider signing the youngster.
Klopp currently has options in central defence with Joel Matip, Joe Gomez and Ibrahima Konate all great options to partner van Dijk. However, with Virgil now 31 years old, and even though he shows no signs of ageing, Klopp has to plan for the long term future of the club.
That is where Bella-Kotchap serves as the perfect long-term replacement for van Dijk with the youngster having the chance to follow (literally) in his footsteps.
Armel Bella-Kotchap is fast being recognised as one of Europe’s top defending talents. His impressive start to the season has already earned him his first senior call-up to the German national squad for the upcoming international fixtures in the third and fourth week of September.
Southampton signed Bella-Kotchap from Bundesliga side VFL Bochum for as little as £9 million. As mentioned on Football 365, in addition to Liverpool, Bayern Munich and Real Madrid are also interested in his services.
Liverpool and Southampton have a great relationship. A lot of players have switched from St. Mary’s to Anfield. Some of them include Virgil van Dijk, Adam Lallana, Nathaniel Clyne, Rickie Lambert and Dejan Lovren. While Danny Ings did go the other way a few seasons ago.
Is there any truth in this transfer, well time will tell.