Liverpool have joined Newcastle and Arsenal in the race to secure Bournemouth centre-back Lloyd Kelly on a free transfer, according to CaughtOffside.com.
The defender is out of contract at the end of June and all three clubs are said to be keen on signing him this summer.
Kelly has had his fair share of injury problems over the years and supporters on X are not convinced that the Reds should be looking at bringing him to Anfield:
I don't know what is the fuss about him. He's not a top 6 club player. His agent is good and sending rumours every window.
— 6LFC19🇵🇸 (@Liverpool3131) May 9, 2024
His injury record is worse than Joe Gomez and Konaté
Follow for follow
— Anfield Square (@AnfieldSquare) May 9, 2024
Is Richard Hughes not his former DOF at Bournemouth? So why isn’t he running to Liverpool if we really want him? His injury record is horrendous
— KTB (@KTB37033674) May 8, 2024
Is this our world class player we were supposed to sign?
— Fred Machado-Lara (@Fredstyle7) May 9, 2024
Pass, the only virtue of Lloyd Kelly is his passport and he's a free agent.
— Extinctionlevelevent (@VinnyB79) May 8, 2024
And here we go! Liverpool downfall begins now
— Hardik (@Hardik11107) May 8, 2024
From one Joe Gomez to another
— Josh (@goldncollects) May 9, 2024
Richard Hughes is probably the driving force behind Liverpool’s interest
Kelly joined Bournemouth from Bristol City in 2019. The Cherries’ sporting director at the time was Richard Hughes so it would not be a surprise if he is now pressing for the Reds to snap up the player, now he has moved into a similar role at the Merseyside club.
It’s likely that other members of the recruitment staff are keen on Kelly as well. The 25-year-old was linked with Liverpool before he made the switch to the Vitality Stadium.
Kelly’s injury record is a major concern
Over the past five years, the centre-half has spent an astonishing 587 days on the sidelines due to injury, missing 81 games for Bournemouth in the process.
While the risk of the transfer going wrong has been reduced by the fact that Kelly is available on a free, you do have to question whether recruiting an injury-prone player is the right move.
