Liverpool have overtaken Premier League rivals Chelsea and Manchester City in the chase to sign Rayan Ait-Nouri and are now the favourites to complete a deal for the Wolverhampton Wanderers star, it has been claimed.

Liverpool's current left-back options are Andy Robertson and Kostas Tsimikas, while Joe Gomez also impressed there at times last season. Tsimikas was brought in to be Robertson's main backup, but he is not quite at the level required to be a reliable performer for the Merseyside giants, despite the fact he has fitted into the club and the city well.

Concerns over Tsimikas' ability saw Gomez pick up a surprising amount of game time at left-back during the 2023-24 season when Robertson was out of action. Of course, Jurgen Klopp has now been replaced by Arne Slot, and it is up to the Dutchman to decide which direction he wants to go in with regards to his left-back options.

Robertson remains a top-class operator, but he is now 30 years old which means Liverpool could do with finding a long-term successor for the Scot.

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It seems Slot wants to replace Tsimikas, and rely on Gomez in other positions such as centre-half and right-back, as the links with Wolves left-back Ait-Nouri are refusing to go away.

Manchester United and Arsenal have both been tipped to sign Ait-Nouri in recent months, but there has now been an update on the situation which makes for great reading for Liverpool fans.

As per journalist Abdel Hamed, who knows Ait-Nouri well and has interviewed him in the past, Liverpool, Chelsea and Man City are now the three clubs pushing hardest to land the 23-year-old.

Slot's side have supposedly moved into 'pole position' for Ait-Nouri, which suggests they have held the most concrete talks with Wolves and have been given encouragement that a deal is there to be struck.

Liverpool transfers: Slot leading Rayan Ait-Nouri charge Reports in France, meanwhile, state that Wolves have given the full-back a new price tag as they brace themselves for several bids for him over the coming weeks.

Ait-Nouri has previously been valued at PS30million, but Wolves' asking price has now risen to PS38m. That is because the player's former club, Angers, will be due a significant portion of the transfer fee Wolves pick up, due to a previous agreement between the two sides.

Wolves manager Gary O'Neil has insisted that the club does not have to sell players this summer, as they are in a better position than they were 12 months ago.

Although, Ait-Nouri's stock is high right now, and the fact he is being hunted by clubs such as Liverpool, Chelsea and City means it may well be worth it for Wolves to cash in.

Should the France-born Algerian complete a big transfer to Liverpool, then he would likely start off his Anfield career behind Robertson in the pecking order. But Ait-Nouri is a quality Prem player in his own right, and he would feel that he has the ability to eventually emerge as Liverpool's first-choice left-back when Robertson starts to decline.