The president of Argentinian outfit Talleres has confirmed that Liverpool have registered their interest in up-and-coming centre-back Kevin Mantilla.
The 20-year-old plied his trade in the academy of Independiente Santa Fe in his homeland up until the summer of 2023, when he joined Talleres in a cut-price £1.4m deal.
Mantilla quickly became a regular in the heart of the Talleres defence, making nine appearances in his first-half season with the Argentine side, but he has predominantly caught the eye on international duty.
A 24-cap international for Colombia's Under-20s, the 6ft 3in centre-back played every minute for his side at last year's South American Championships, helping his nation finish in third place with four clean sheets.
Three months later, Mantilla also started all five of Colombia's matches at the Under-20 World Cup, where the Tricolors were eliminated by Italy in the quarter-finals, and the 20-year-old is contracted to Talleres until December 2027.
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However, the South American outfit will seemingly struggle to keep hold of the highly-rated defender for the long-term, as European clubs are starting to take notice of his talent.
Speaking to La Voz, Talleres president Andres Fassi revealed that both Brighton & Hove Albion and Liverpool had been in touch to enquire for information about Mantilla, although his side have no intention of letting him depart so soon.
"It's true, they have been following him for four months now. And they asked us for information about their physical records," the publication quotes Fassi as saying.
While funds are limited for most clubs during the January transfer window, Liverpool have been tipped to bring in defensive reinforcements after losing Joel Matip to a season-ending ACL injury last month.
The Cameroonian may have played his final game in a Liverpool shirt too, as his contract runs out at the end of the campaign, although Jurgen Klopp has suggested that he wants the club to extend his deal.
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In addition, the Reds are working without three senior full-backs in Trent Alexander-Arnold, Andrew Robertson and Kostas Tsimikas due to injury, with the former set to miss the rest of the month with a knee issue.
Robertson (shoulder) and Tsimikas (collarbone) will also take another few weeks to recover from their serious problems, which have seen Joe Gomez cover on the left-hand side of the backline during the winter period.
Alexander-Arnold's injury led to suggestions that the Reds could turn to the transfer market, but Klopp has instead called upon 20-year-old Conor Bradley, who is bidding to make a name for himself at Anfield after his own fitness woes.
Bradley made a positive impact on Liverpool's 2-0 FA Cup win over Arsenal last weekend, and Klopp was also full of praise for the youngster after his competent display in their 2-1 EFL Cup semi-final first-leg win over Fulham on Wednesday.
Ben Knapton
