LIVERPOOL are now strong favourites to sign Dominik Szoboszlai after Newcastle United were unable to agree a deal for the RB Leipzig midfielder.

Newcastle’s recruitment team have held a series of discussions over Szoboszlai this summer, with the Hungary international having been one of the club’s leading midfield targets.

The Magpies were always unwilling to pay the €70m release clause that is contained within the 22-year-old’s contract at Leipzig, and which is reportedly due to expire this evening.

However, Newcastle officials had been led to believe that Leipzig were open to offers below that figure and it was hoped that a deal could be agreed that would be much closer to the Magpies’ valuation of the central midfielder.

That has not proved to be the case, with the Leipzig hierarchy adamant that the current release clause is their minimum requirement for an agreement. Leipzig have already sold Christopher Nkunku to Chelsea this summer for €60m, and are also in talks with Manchester City over the possible €90m sale of Josko Gvardiol. As a result, there is no financial imperative for them to sell Szoboszlai.

While Newcastle are set to officially complete the €70m signing of Sandro Tonali at the start of next week, with the Italian expected to travel to Tyneside over the weekend, Eddie Howe still wants to sign another midfielder before the transfer window closes at the end of August.

The Magpies will continue to monitor Szoboszlai’s position, but there is a growing acceptance that they will have to look elsewhere as they look to strengthen their squad. Nice’s Khephren Thuram has long been regarded as an alternative option, although with his Ligue 1 employers quoting figures of upward of £60m, the 22-year-old France international is hardly a cut-price Plan B.

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Anfield is now a much a likelier destination for Szoboszlai, with Liverpool having upped their attempts to sign the midfielder significantly in the last couple of days.

Having made initial inquiries about the Hungarian last week, when they were in talks with Leipzig over a loan move for Fabio Carvalho, Liverpool officials have now entered into a series of more formal discussions with the hierarchy at the Bundesliga club.

They are also understood to have held talks with Szoboszlai’s representatives and received an indication that the midfielder would be interested in a move to Merseyside.

Further talks are set to take place later today, although it remains to be seen whether Liverpool will opt to end the need for discussions by formally triggering the buyout clause in Szoboszlai’s deal. If a move is agreed, it will be completely unrelated to Carvalho’s loan switch to Leipzig.

Jurgen Klopp identified midfield as a key priority position before the end of last season, and is set to be backed by those above him this summer.