Bobby Duncan Dropped From Liverpool Under-23 Squad as Talks Over £10m Move to Fiorentina Begin

Liverpool youngster Bobby Duncan was surprisingly omitted from the Under-23 side to face Southampton on Monday evening, as talks begin over a potential £10m

Liverpool youngster Bobby Duncan was surprisingly omitted from the Under-23 side to face Southampton on Monday evening, as talks begin over a potential £10m move to Fiorentina.

The Serie A side have made an offer to take Duncan on loan next season, with a view to a permanent deal next summer. The 18-year-old striker has removed all mention of Liverpool from his social media pages, prompting rumours he is eager to leave.

According to Football Insider, a Liverpool source confirmed that the transfer speculation was the reason for Duncan's omission from the game - which the Reds won 4-2 - and talks have now begun over his departure.

Another source is said to have revealed that Fiorentina's offer is a loan with an obligation to buy, which could be worth over £10m for the Reds. Liverpool director Michael Edwards is leading the negotiations to try and earn as much money as possible for one of their brightest prospects.

Duncan, the cousin of Steven Gerrard, was part of Liverpool's pre-season squad and even netted in the 6-0 win over Tranmere Rovers, but he remains well down the pecking order at Anfield.

The trio of Mohamed Salah, Roberto Firmino and Sadio Mane are effectively guaranteed starters, whilst Xherdan Shaqiri, Divock Origi and Rhian Brewster also appear to be higher in Klopp's estimations, meaning first-team opportunities could be hard to come by for Duncan.

Another season of academy football was believed to be on the agenda for the former Manchester City youngster, but it appears his head may have been turned by Fiorentina's interest.

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Having recently struck a deal to sign former Bayern Munich winger Franck Ribery, the Serie A side are looking to continue their push for attacking reinforcements, and it looks like they have settled on Duncan.

The Italian transfer window will slam shut on 2nd September, so Fiorentina are pushing to get this deal over the line in the coming days.