‘Amazing’ Liverpool target’s club now resigned to him leaving

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Liverpool could have just been given a transfer boost in the case of Sporting defender Goncalo Inacio.

Inacio has been heavily linked with Liverpool over the past few months. With January now almost upon us, reports have ramped up that the Reds are preparing to make their move.

And according to Portuguese outlet A Bola, Sporting will likely be prepared for such an assault.

They claim that the Lisbon side now see it as being ‘inevitable’ that Inacio will be leaving them in the near future.

Liverpool are once again named as an interested party. The Reds are said to have earmarked the Portugal international as an alternative to the injured Kostas Tsimikas. However, it’s actually claimed that Arsenal are now the team ‘best positioned’ to sign Inacio right now.

Should Liverpool – or Arsenal – wish to pluck the 22-year-old in January, they’ll reportedly have to pay his full £52m release clause.

Inacio heading for Sporting exit

This is good news and bad news for Liverpool. Good in the sense that Sporting are now ready to accept that Inacio’s future lays elsewhere, bad obviously that Arsenal apparently lead the race.

If Liverpool are serious about the Portuguese though, they simply have to get back in the lead.

Although Arsenal are still in a slightly better place than the Reds at the moment, there’s no real reason that they should be able to woo Inacio over them.

Liverpool saw first-hand how good the Gunners’ current centre-back duo is at Anfield on Saturday.

The skills and qualities of Gabriel and William Saliba may be drastically overblown at times, but they’re good players. Both under 26, there’s no real opportunity for Inacio to break in there.

At Liverpool, there may be no instant chance to break in either. But there is very much a long-term spot open for Inacio. Come in now and work as understudy to Virgil van Dijk, the Sporting man could be first-choice in no time at all.

Also capable of playing at left-back, there is the possibility that Liverpool see Inacio as an option there, too. As Fabrizio Romano said for The Daily Briefing back in October, Inacio is ‘amazing.’ He’ll be a top signing whoever gets him.

As the race looks to enter a potential final straight, Liverpool appear to be still in it. One thing’s now for certain anyway: Inacio’s potential will be realised away from Lisbon.