Liverpool and Manchester City are frontrunners to sign Lens defender Samson Baidoo in a deal that could break a transfer record, according to a report.

Liverpooland Man City remain on the hunt for centre-back reinforcements, despite recently adding to their respective squads. Liverpool signed Giovanni Leoni from Parma last summer and have also agreed to spend ￡60million on Rennes’ Jeremy Jacquet later this year.

The Reds came extremely close to capturing Marc Guehi last summer, only for the transfer to collapse at the last minute. Guehi then joined City for ￡20m during the January window.

As per Sports Boom, Liverpool and City are preparing to battle for Baidoo, a 21-year-old centre-half who is earning rave reviews in France.

Liverpool and City ‘lead the race’ to sign Baidoo, ahead of other clubs such as Borussia Dortmund and Inter Milan.

Liverpool see the Austrian as an ‘ideal successor’ for Virgil van Dijk, who is now 34 years old, while City aim to sign him before loaning him back to Lens for another year.

READ: Van Dijk moment ‘speaks volumes’ for Liverpool as Premier League faces ‘backlash’

The Ligue 1 outfit have set Baidoo’s valuation at €45-55m (￡39-48m). A transfer in that region would make him Lens’ record sale, eclipsing the €40m deal which took Lois Openda to RB Leipzig.

The report explains why elite clubs such as Liverpool and City are circling. Baidoo is described as a ‘tactical mastermind’ who is also a ‘physical force’ and ‘lightning-fast’.

Scouts have supposedly praised him for being ‘athletic, durable and explosive’. Not only does Baidoo have the strength needed to cope with top-class forwards, but he also has the pace required to be Lens’ last line of defence.

Baidoo is clearly an exciting young talent, but Liverpool should prioritise more established names if they want to get back to winning the Premier League title.

Arne Slot’s side are understood to be monitoring players such as Alessandro Bastoni, Micky van de Ven and Nico Schlotterbeck.

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Bastoni appears ready to take the next step away from Inter Milan this summer. Real Madrid are leading the race for Schlotterbeck though, which could rule him out as an option for Liverpool.

Van De Ven would be Liverpool’s best bet, as he is proven in the Premier League and could push to leave Tottenham Hotspur at the end of the season.

The Dutchman is far too good to be languishing near the bottom of the table.

Signing Van De Ven would help Liverpool to prepare for life after Van Dijk. The Reds are also working hard to tie down Ibrahima Konate to fresh terms, which would finally end speculation about a move to Madrid.

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