This story has been reproduced from today's media. It does not necessarily represent the position of Liverpool Football Club.
Liverpool talent-spotter Damien Comolli is gearing up Anfield for an invasion of the French foreign legion.
Comolli, the new director of football strategy charged with helping boss Roy Hodgson recruit new stars, has been assembling a hit-list of transfer targets for the January window and next summer - with four Frenchmen on the radar.
And with Lille's exciting £20million Belgian winger Eden Hazard plus Borussia Dortmund's £15m-rated Serbian central defender Neven Subotic also a priority, all of Comolli's targets would cost a staggering £80m.
That would be an immediate test of Kop owner John Henry's commitment to Anfield's future.
Comolli has been told by Henry to nab players in their early 20s as Liverpool build for a brighter future.
And heading the wish list of French stars are four of Laurent Blanc's side who outplayed England in their 2-1 friendly win at Wembley last month.
Yann M'Vila, Rennes' 20-year-old midfielder, Marseilles striker Loic Remy - 24 next month - Lille centre-back Adil Rami, 25 later this month, and St Etienne attacking midfielder Dimitri Payet, 23, have all been identified by Comolli as viable targets.
Frenchman Comolli, who left St Etienne to join Liverpool, is using his knowledge of the French game to identify the stars needed to rebuild Liverpool.
But he'll have his work cut out to land them all - especially Hazard, who is being tracked by Real Madrid.
The 19-year-old, who scored against Liverpool last season in the Europa League, signed a new deal at Lille last term, keeping him under contract until 2014.
This story has been reproduced from today's media. It does not necessarily represent the position of Liverpool Football Club.
This story has been reproduced from today's media. It does not necessarily represent the position of Liverpool Football Club.
Tagged: adil rami , dimitri payet , eden hazard , loic remy , neven subotic