Pathway to French starlet no longer clear.
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Liverpool have been dealt a blow in their interest of St Etienne starlet Kurt Zouma as Russian side Anzhi Makhachkala have now declared an interest, according to The Express.
Earlier this week Reds boss Brendan Rodgers made his first addition to the squad by securing the signing of Manchester City defender Kolo Toure. Rodgers had given priority to the centre of defence as he seeks to replace the now retired Jamie Carragher and had identified Zouma as the ideal man to make a progression from hot prospect into a genuine world class stopper with the Anfield club.
Liverpool had been thought to have a green light to go ahead with their pursuit by the player’s agent after he claimed the 19-year-old would be better on Liverpool’s bench than in St Etienne’s first team, but that all no appears to be in doubt thanks to the interest from the Russian big spenders.
French newspaper L’Equipe claims that he has been offered a deal he can’t refuse after he held talks with the club’s president and a fee of around £8.5 million has been mooted as enough to prize the Frenchman away from Les Verts.
Zouma had also been thought to be on the radar of Italian giants Juventus but so far they have failed to follow through with any concrete interest.