Liverpool eye Newcastle defender

Liverpool are in a race with Manchester United to sign Malick Thiaw, the Newcastle United defender, as the club seeks a replacement for Virgil van Dijk, whose contract expires at the end of the season.

CaughtOffside reports that Liverpool have begun planning to replace Van Dijk, identifying a potential target in the 25-year-old German international defender, who is also being watched by Manchester United, although there have been no direct communications between the parties yet.

Malick Thiaw is under contract with Newcastle until the summer of 2029, but the club has no intention of selling him and will demand a fee between £65 million and £70 million for his departure.

In contrast, Russ Wilson, Newcastle's sporting director, spoke about the possibility of selling more prominent players during upcoming transfer windows, confirming that selling players is part of the club's policy.

Wilson stated: "If you want to be a successful club in the Premier League, you have to sell players, and if you don't do that, you are unlikely to be a successful club in the Premier League."

He added: "We were happy with the numbers we reached, but we did not want to lose Bruno Guimarães. That was disappointing, but everything else that happened during the transfer window was part of the plan."