Portuguese giants Sporting will not be signing Liverpool target Andre Trindade.
The Lisbon side had been rumoured to be set to rival the Reds in the chase to capture Andre. However, they were reportedly growing resigned to the fact that Liverpool may be favourites.
And according to journalist Pedro Sepulveda on Twitter, it’s now clear that Sporting will not be bringing the Fluminense man to the Estadio Jose Alvalade.
“Andre will not be a reinforcement of Sporting CP,” Sepulveda says. “Fluminense FC wants more than 20 million euros [£17m] for the Brazilian midfielder and wants to keep him until the end of the season – January 2024.
“Interest from LFC is real but no proposal has been made.”
MORE LIVERPOOL STORIES
Sporting drop out of Andre race
This doesn’t mean that Liverpool have a clear run at Andre. But it’s undoubtedly good news that they won’t have to worry about Sporting.
Clearly, the move from Brazil to Portugal is far less daunting than coming from South America straight to the UK. The language is the same, the culture is similar and it’s a very well-trodden path.
The likes of Sporting, Benfica and Porto have been very astute in picking up the very best of the South American market, before selling on to Premier League clubs for a big profit.
But there are signs that this is starting to change. In January alone, the moves of Danilo from Palmeiras to Nottingham Forest and Joao Gomes from Flamengo to Wolves suggest as much.
In the past, these players would have made a stop in Portugal first, before catching Premier League interest. Now, it seems that Liverpool could be the latest club to attempt to shut off that pipeline.
However, that doesn’t mean that it’ll be easy to snare Andre. Fluminense are obviously desperate to keep hold of the 22-year-old for as long as they can.
£17m is more than do-able for Liverpool, though. They should add a premium onto that to ensure they can get Andre in straight away. If not, January will do, as long as we can get another body in now.