Liverpool are now the club with the strongest interest in signing Fluminense midfielder Andre Trindade.
Andre has emerged as a genuine alternative for Liverpool as they struggle to reach an agreement with Southampton for Romeo Lavia. As negotiations with the Championship club reach an impasse, the Reds are starting to look elsewhere.
As of yesterday, Andre has been widely reported to be top of that list of options. And according to Portuguese journalist Bruno Andrade, the Reds are indeed the club in the driving seat for the 22-year-old.
“Liverpool are now the main interest in Andre, as was reported earlier by the English press,” Andrade says.
“Role of [agent] Jorge Mendes has weight in the eventual negotiation.”
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Although the desire to pursue Andre is genuine though, the journalist does also point out that Lavia remains the priority.
“However, Jurgen Klopp’s number one target is still Southampton’s Romeo Lavia,” Andrade concludes.
Liverpool favourites to land Andre
Liverpool being the leaders in the chase for Andre wasn’t a given up until yesterday.
There had been previous reports that Fulham were actually initially the most likely destination for the Brazil international. More recently, there were also claims that Portuguese giants Sporting were hot on his trail, too.
With all due respect though, Liverpool are obviously a bigger club than both of those challengers, and if push comes to shove should win any battle for any player.
But in terms of a jump from Fluminense, either Fulham or Sporting may be a more manageable one for Andre.
To be fair to him, he does look like a really talented player. Described as ‘dynamic’ by football analyst site Breaking The Lines, he surely has a very high ceiling.
But right now, Liverpool really need someone to go straight into the starting XI. Andre may be able to do that, but he’s far more likely to slot comfortably in at a Fulham or a Sporting.
Nevertheless, that the Reds have swept both out of the way shows that they are serious. They’re going to have to be too, time is starting to run out in the window. We have a couple of targets firmly in our sights, now it’s time to pull the trigger.