Sources: Newcastle ahead of Liverpool in race to sign €50m star

Liverpool’s transfer interest in Club Brugge defender Joel Ordonez appears to have cooled, with Newcastle United and Aston Villa now emerging as more strong suitors.

As I reported here in an exclusive report for the Daily Briefing, Ordonez is someone has been on the radar of Liverpool in the past, but it now seems their focus is on other targets.

Subscribe to the Daily Briefing to read up more of these exclusive reports, including the long list of names Liverpool are targeting in defence, including Castello Lukeba and Sven Botman.

Ordonez, however, is not currently understood to be a priority for the Reds, though he is still on the list of clubs like Newcastle and Villa.

Others will also surely end up joining the race for the talented young Ecuador international, who could cost around €50m.

It will be interesting to see if links with Ordonez perhaps become more concrete again soon, but for now LFC appear to be prioritising more experienced names.

Arne Slot has Giovanni Leoni as an elite defensive prospect, though of course he’s currently out with a long-term injury.

For the time being, though, it surely makes the most sense to bring in someone who can definitely make an impact straight away, hence the pursuit of someone like Marc Guehi over the summer.

There’s no doubt something needs to be done in defence for Liverpool, though, as they’ve been conceding a lot of goals so far this season.

Fans wondering how to buy Eintracht Frankfurt vs Liverpool tickets will also surely be wondering if Slot’s men can tighten up at the back as they look to bounce back with a win in the Champions League after losing to Galatasaray last time out.

In fairness, it’s not just about central defence for Liverpool, as they have two new full-backs getting a lot of minutes this term in the form of Jeremie Frimpong and Milos Kerkez, while Dominik Szoboszlai has also filled in out of position on the right-hand side of defence.

Alisson Becker is also injured, meaning Giorgi Mamardashvili has to fill in in goal for the time being, which will further unsettle Liverpool at the back.

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