4 days ago
9 Liverpool, Newcastle United and Aston Villa are among the clubs interested in a potential transfer swoop for highly-rated young Club Brugge defender Joel Ordonez.
The 20-year-old has impressed with his performances during his time in Belgium, including with some appearances for the club in the Champions League, and CaughtOffside understands Premier League teams have been monitoring him.
Ordonez is one of the names on Liverpool’s list of defensive targets, while sources have also told CaughtOffside that Newcastle and Villa could be teams to watch in the race for the Ecuador international’s signature.
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Ordonez would likely cost around €30million to prise away from Brugge, who will no doubt be keen to keep this important player, whilst also likely recognising that it’s going to become harder and harder for them to stop him moving to a more competitive league sooner or later.
Joel Ordonez transfer: Where could the talented young centre-back end up?
Joel Ordonez vies for the ball against Mika Biereth (Photo by Jurij Kodrun/Getty Images)It’s not yet clear if any particular club is leading the race for Ordonez, but Liverpool are known to be eager to bring in new bodies in that area of their squad amid doubts over Virgil van Dijk’s future.
The Netherlands international still hasn’t signed a new contract with the Reds and is not that far away now from becoming a free agent, so a long-term replacement could be crucial.
Still, Ordonez is perhaps not yet experienced enough to make that big a step up, and so stepping stone clubs like Newcastle and Villa might make more sense.

 
Ordonez looks like he could be a good fit for the Newcastle project, as they’ve done well in recent times to give opportunities to young players who have gone on to develop and increase their value whilst at St James’ Park.
Villa have done similarly impressive work in that department and also look to be growing really competitive under manager Unai Emery, making it into the Champions League this season, which will surely appeal to a talent like Ordonez.
