Liverpool scouts were keeping a close eye on Lens midfielder Seko Fofana on Saturday ahead of a potential move to the Premier League, according to reports.

What's the latest on Fofana to Liverpool?

The Ivory Coast international first arrived in Ligue 1 back in 2020, and since making 109 appearances to date, has become such an integral member of Franck Haise’s first-team that he is now their club captain.

Despite the 28-year-old’s contract not expiring for another two years, he’s also his squad’s second overall best-performing player with a WhoScored match rating of 7.06, and this standout form has caught the eye of Jurgen Klopp at Anfield.

Back in November 2022, Fabrizio Romano revealed via CaughtOffside that the French outfit’s skipper changed agents in the hope of securing a move away this year, where at the time he’d already been heavily linked with the Reds and Arsenal.

Now, according to 90min, Liverpool, the Gunners, Manchester United, Newcastle, Aston Villa, Wolves and West Ham all “sent scouts” to Lens’ 2-1 victory over Marseille on Saturday, with the Merseyside chiefs “keeping a close eye” on the performance of Fofana.

FSG and Klopp have reportedly held a “long-standing interest” in their target and he is a player on the “lengthy list” of central candidates that they have been monitoring. Alongside the midfielder, Kevin Danso, a centre-back, also “attracted particular interest” throughout the 90 minutes.

Would Fofana be the right fit for Liverpool?

Fofana is naturally a central midfielder but is much stronger in the attacking aspect of his game having been lauded Lens’ “creative spark” by journalist Josh Bunting, and with the leadership qualities that he’d also add to the squad, he would be an excellent addition at Liverpool.

The 6 foot 1 star, who currently pockets £30k-per-week, has posted 30 goal contributions (19 goals and 11 assists) in 109 Lens appearances, but even if he’s not always on the scoresheet, he’s constantly looking to make the magic happen in the final third.

The Paris native ranks in the 97th percentile for total shots and the 96th percentile for number of attacking touches in the opposition’s penalty area compared with other midfielders, as per FBRef, so is always a real threat in and around the box at the top end of the pitch.

Finally, Fofana is a versatile operator having played in an impressive six different positions since the start of his career, including everywhere across the midfield and even once at centre-forward, and the fact that he's previously endured spells with Manchester City's U21s and later Fulham means that he's no stranger to English football, so he could be the perfect profile of midfielder for Klopp.