Report: 21-year-old’s club have no agreement to sell him to Liverpool, he’ll now cost them £42m

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Reports that Liverpool have a first-refusal agreement with Porto for Fabio Vieira have been dismissed by the Portuguese press.

O Jogo claim that there is no such option for Liverpool. Furthermore, Porto are not planning to sell Vieira this summer.

If any club is interested in the midfielder, they’ll reportedly have to pay his £42m release clause. As well as Liverpool, Arsenal are also claimed to be keeping an eye on him.

It’s claimed that Porto see Vieira and teammate Vitinha as still having room to grow at the club. This could increase their sell-on price in the future.

Too good to be true

Reports emerged over the weekend that The Reds had secured a first-refusal option on the young Portuguese.

According to the Sunday Mirror (15/05 page 77) Liverpool had secured a price of just £12.7m to take the midfielder to Anfield.

That sounded remarkably low for a player who has 14 assists this season. Although on the other hand, a figure pushing past the £40m mark seems excessive.

If Liverpool do want to secure a deal for Vieira this summer, the truth probably lies somewhere in the middle.

Liverpool look to Portugal

After the success of Luis Diaz’s transfer in January, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see Liverpool return to Portugal for more players in the future.

In Pep Lijnders and Vitor Matos they have coaches with experience in the country. They have also reportedly been scouting the nation for the best talent available.

The Portugal Primeira Liga tends to act as a good finishing school for players hoping to move to bigger leagues. If someone like Vieira has done well in his homeland, then chances are that he can cut it at a higher level too.

There are countless players who Liverpool could look at from Portugal. But the likes of Porto and Benfica know the worth of their players, it’s no longer a cheap place to do your transfer shopping.

If they do decide Vieira is the man they want, it sounds like it’s going to cost them a whole lot more than £12.7m.

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