Napoli defender Faouzi Ghoulam looks set to be on the move next summer after an Italian football agent suggested that the player would not renew his contract with the Serie A side.
Mario Giuffredi, the agent of Ghoulam's Napoli team-mate Mario Rui, told the press this week: 'I don't think Ghoulam will renew with Napoli, and it's enough to think that in four months he'll be able to sign for whoever he wants for nothing.
'He could earn €5m and if I were his agent I'd do that, and I don't think the others are stupid. I don't believe these stories that Ghoulam wants to renew, if he wanted to renew he'd already have done it.
'Besides, with the way he's playing Napoli can't afford to put him in the stands. After August 31, it's the player who has the handle of the knife,'
Liverpool have been heavily linked with a move for Ghoulam in the past, with the 26-year-old having become one of Europe's most higly-rated left-backs in recent years.
The Algerian is renowned for being an attacking but combative defender and given that Liverpool would be able to open talks over a move in the summer as early as January, it would seem a logical move.
The arrival of Ghoulam would allow Jurgen Klopp to finally dispense with Alberto Moreno and allow the Algerian and new boy Andrew Robertson compete for the position.
Liverpool had previously hoped to strengthen that area in the summer but after missing out on their targets, Moreno was brought back into the fold.