Crystal Palace are “bracing themselves” for an enquiry from Liverpool for midfielder Cheick Doucoure, according to the Daily Mail.

The English tabloid claims that the Reds have yet to make a formal approach for the Malian international but contact is expected to be made soon.

Doucoure is, however, a key player for Palace and the Eagles are keen to keep hold of him, so they could demand as much as £70m to sell this summer.

The Mail report that the reason behind the sky-high valuation is down to the prices that other holding midfielders have been going for.

Arsenal have paid a club record fee of £105m for Declan Rice while Brighton are demanding nearly the same amount for Moises Caicedo.

Doucoure has been praised by his manager

Former Reds boss Roy Hodgson, who is currently back in the dugout at Palace, is a big fan of Doucoure. Speaking about the 23-year-old’s game in May, he said:

“He has been very influential. He’s one of those players that plays in a position which is a bit of a fulcrum of the attacking midfield play and defending midfield play. His positional sense, his ability to read the game, his technical ability, and the fact that he gets around the field so well [makes him influential]. I noticed he’s up there amongst people who’ve made the most interceptions, which is nice to see.”

Liverpool need to bring in replacements for both Fabinho and Henderson

With the two Liverpool players looking poised to seal their moves to Saudi Arabia, the Merseyside club have to make sure that they replace both of them before the transfer window shuts.

Even if they do secure Doucoure’s signature, recruiting another midfield player is needed. Reports suggest that Southampton’s Romeo Lavia is also a top target but he has a very high asking price too at £50m. It remains to be seen whether the Reds’ transfer budget can stretch that far.