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Liverpool are reportedly paying close attention to AC Milan centre-back Koni De Winter.That’s the word coming from CaughtOffside’s Mark Brus on The Daily Briefing, with Manchester United and Chelsea also said to be among the defender’s potential suitors.Liverpool looking at Koni De Winter?(Photo by Marco Luzzani/Getty Images)The three big-hitters in question aren’t the only Premier League clubs keeping a watching brief on the No.5.So there’s a distinct possibility that De Winter could be making his move to the English top-flight sooner rather than later, if he can maintain his current performance levels.From Liverpool’s perspective, interest in signing a new centre-back is more than understandable given question marks over the futures of Joe Gomez and Virgil van Dijk. Meanwhile, it’s not quite clear whether loan signing Ronald Araujo’s move to Anfield will be made permanent in light of his superb form in the 2026/27 season.Either way, the Reds will require at least one new centre-half come the opening of the summer transfer window.Is the AC Milan man of a Liverpool standard?(Photo by Michael Steele/Getty Images)One sticking point for Liverpool might be Milan and Ruben Amorim’s use of the Belgian star in a three-man central defence.But looking past that, De Winter has posted some reasonable numbers since his move to the Italian giants last year.It will certainly be encouraging for Andoni Iraola that the young centre-half ranks well for line-breaking passes and aerial duels, particularly with the club’s progressive capabilities yet to fully recover in a post-Trent Alexander-Arnold world.
Koni De Winter’s stats (per 90) Percentiles 91.4% pass success rate 81st 10.71 line-breaking passes 85th 59.4% duels won 68th 65.6% aerial duels won 84th 0.2 dribbled past 84th Ranks 10th in the squad for average FotMob rating (6.98) in 2026/27 * Koni De Winter’s stats for AC Milan in the 2025/26 Serie A season (FotMob)At 24 years of age, however, it would seem that the former Juventus star is still very much a work in progress. Of course, this will no doubt be welcomed by a coach with Iraola’s appetite for development.And adding another centre-back option to the ranks who’s capable of getting the ball out of the backline is something we’re far from opposed to.
