Liverpool Pursue AZ Star Kees Smit for £51.5m
Liverpool’s midfield rebuild might not be done yet. Not by a long way.
Club scouts were among a heavy Premier League presence at the Stadium of Light on Tuesday night, running the rule over AZ Alkmaar’s rising star Kees Smit in a 1-0 defeat to Sunderland. The result was irrelevant to the real story. The 20-year-old was again the focal point, another live audition in front of some of England’s biggest decision-makers.
TeamTalk report that Liverpool are “long-term admirers” of Smit and specifically sent representatives to Wearside to track his progress. They were far from alone.
Chelsea, Tottenham, Nottingham Forest, Aston Villa, Crystal Palace and Brighton all reportedly had eyes in the stands, with Smit the primary reason for the mass scouting trip. When that many clubs converge on one game for one player, it usually signals something serious: not background research, but active plotting.
A €60m Talent in AZ’s Engine Room
Smit started the match and, according to the report, delivered “another eye-catching display” despite AZ being undone late on by an Enzo Le Fée penalty. It fits the pattern. Over the past 18 months he has “emerged as one of Europe’s most exciting young midfield talents” and grown into a central figure in AZ’s strong Eredivisie campaign.
With AZ sitting second in the table, his influence has only become more pronounced. Performance data, trajectory, and the eye test are all pulling in the same direction. That combination tends to attract the kind of clubs who can move quickly and decisively.
There is already a price tag attached. Smit is described as a “€60m (£51.5m, $69m) rated star”, a valuation that puts him firmly in the premium bracket for under-21 midfielders. Liverpool know what that means. If they step in during January, there will be no bargain to be found and no clear run at the player.
The interest is not new, either. His development since breaking into AZ’s first team in 2024 has drawn “sustained interest from England for more than two years”. This is not a reaction to one neat performance on a cold midweek night. It is the continuation of a long scouting process that now feels close to a decision point.
Liverpool’s Midfield Question – and a January Answer?
The story sharpens once you factor in Liverpool’s wider plans. TeamTalk report that “The Reds are understood to be considering a mid-season swoop for a new midfielder”, with Andoni Iraola concerned that “his current options cannot bring his high-intensity press demands to life.”
That line cuts straight to the heart of it. Iraola’s football lives off energy, aggression and repeat pressing. If the current midfield mix is not fully delivering those demands, the temptation to go into the market in January grows stronger.
Smit’s profile fits that need. A young, mobile midfielder comfortable in high-intensity systems, already carrying major responsibility in a side chasing the top of its league. The report claims Liverpool have “shortlisted four potential options ahead of the January window” and that Smit “too can be added to that list.” No move is described as imminent, but the pattern is clear: targeted scouting, long-term admiration, and a tactical gap that needs filling.
Those ingredients often turn interest into action very quickly once the window opens.
A Race That Never Really Switched Off
There is also some unfinished business around Smit’s future. He “had been expected to make a move during the summer, but no transfer materialised despite strong interest from clubs across Europe.” That kind of stalled move rarely kills a market. It usually just delays it.
He missed out on Ronald Koeman’s latest Netherlands squad, a setback on the international front, yet the report stresses that “has done little to diminish the interest” from clubs. If anything, his response at AZ has kept his stock rising and the phone calls coming.
So Tuesday’s match in Sunderland becomes a snapshot rather than a turning point. Another data point for Liverpool, another reminder for the rest of the Premier League pack that this is a player who will not stay in Alkmaar forever.
From Liverpool’s angle, the logic is obvious. Iraola wants a midfielder who can ignite the press, lift the tempo and still grow over the next five years. Smit fits the age profile, the physical profile, and the tactical profile. The sticking point is the fee: £51.5m for a player still proving himself at the very top level is a serious commitment, even in a market that has inflated sharply for elite young midfielders.
But hesitation comes with its own cost. If “Chelsea, Tottenham, Nottingham Forest, Aston Villa, Crystal Palace and Brighton were all in attendance”, Liverpool know that one more impressive month from Smit could turn a controlled pursuit into a full-blown bidding war.
The question now is simple: does Iraola push for a January signing to supercharge his pressing game, or does Liverpool wait and risk watching one of Europe’s most coveted young midfielders slip into a rival’s engine room instead?
