Liverpool could complete a Premier League raid, with Jan Paul van Hecke reportedly unlikely to sign a new contract at Brighton and Hove Albion.

Van Hecke’s current deal expires in 2027, and Brighton could look to cash in either this month or at the end of the season to avoid the risk of losing him on a free transfer.

Liverpool in January: What’s the plan?

• Signing young centre-back to join in the summer
• Another first-team-ready centre-back likely to follow
• Reds keen to add versatile attacker

The Netherlands international has been one of the Seagulls’ standout performers since the start of the 2023/24 campaign, forming a solid centre-back partnership with Lewis Dunk.

If he becomes available for a reduced fee – or even on a free in 18 months – Premier League clubs will surely be all over him, and former Manchester United chief scout Mick Brown believes Van Hecke will not commit his future to Brighton.

“I’m not convinced he will want to stay at Brighton,” Brown – ‘who remains very well-connected within the game’ – told Football Insider.

“He’s got the bright lights of the Champions League in his mind now, and it’s hard to turn that down, especially when Brighton are struggling a bit.

“They’ve lost some key players and dropped off a bit from where they were when he signed.

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“Liverpoolhave been keeping an eye on him because of their situation, and if he becomes available for whatever reason, they may well make a move.

“Tottenham also want reinforcements and he’s somebody who’s been on their radar for a while.

“If Brighton keep struggling like they have been recently, then that opportunity might come up, and it’s certainly one I think will appeal to him.

“Say Liverpool come in for him, I think he’d want to join them rather than staying at Brighton.

“Whether it happens in January, I’m not sure, because Brighton don’t want to lose him – and especially not mid-way through the season – but he’ll be one to watch.”

Liverpool plot ‘extraordinary’ Wharton transfer

Another Premier League rising star Liverpool are reportedly interested in signing is Man United-linked Crystal Palace midfielder Adam Wharton.

A post from an X account claiming to have a “team of five elite reporters” says the Reds are ‘making extraordinary moves to sign Wharton’ and are ‘in talks with Palace’ to negotiate a deal at a ‘realistic price’.

Van Hecke would be an outstanding signing for a side desperate for more defensive depth, though that transfer feels more realistic in the summer, when Brighton have greater clarity over the 25-year-old’s contract situation.

With Wharton, a January transfer feels less likely, but there is no doubt Palace would demand a huge fee to part with their talismanic midfielder.

If Palace were to sell in the summer, there is a chance a deal worth around ￡65m could be agreed, but a mid-season sale would surely require a fee north of ￡85m.

From what we have seen of Wharton in the Premier League, he could be well worth it.

However, Palace hold all the cards. He is an England international, just 21 years old, and crucially, under contract until 2029.

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