President admits £26m player might leave before tomorrow, after Liverpool bid rejected

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Liverpool still have a window of opportunity to add a long-time transfer target to the squad before tomorrow.

With Thursday bringing deadline day, it looks highly unlikely that the Reds will be making any late additions to aid Jurgen Klopp’s final stretch as manager.

But if they do decide to reignite their interest in Fluminense midfielder Andre Trindade, then he’s there for the taking. Liverpool were in for Andre over the summer, but as Flu president Mario Bittencourt has once again outlined for Globo, his club were in no mood to sell. Having turned down the Reds, they’re now in danger of missing out on a sale.

“We had a proposal for Andre of 30 million euros [£26m] from Liverpool and we said “no” because we had determined, in agreement with the player, that we would not sell him because we wanted to win the Libertadores,” Bittencourt outlines. “Since then, we had a second proposal, from an English club, in a value well below 30, which we refused, because we understood that it was below what Fluminense expects for the player.

“His head is pretty good, and that’s what I’m most worried about. He expects to go, because he fulfilled an agreement to stay, and I also fulfil agreements. The window closes in two days. There is a possibility that a proposal will arrive in the next two days, and if the sale is good for the club and the player, it will happen.

“And there’s a chance he’ll go in the middle of the year, the sale happening now for him to happen in the middle of the year.”

Andre still hanging on

This is actually quite a sad state of affairs in many ways. Having seen their bid for Andre turned down, Liverpool went and signed Wataru Endo instead.

Now, we’re fans of Endo’s and he’s had a good period for the Reds. But Andre is eight years the Japan captain’s junior and potentially has an even higher ceiling. There’s little question that the Brazilian would have been a stronger addition than Endo. It could be a source of regret for Liverpool.

From the player’s point of view, you can’t help but feel he’ll lament it, too. Yes, he won the Copa Libertadores with his boyhood club and that should not be downplayed.

But at the same time, there was a real opportunity there for Andre to go to top club in Europe. There would have been chances for him in the team this season and from there he could have established himself.

Instead, he’s now looking very likely to stay in Brazil for another year beyond when Liverpool made their initial offer. From there, who’s to say that Andre will get another chance.

Obviously, there is other interest there. Bittencourt details a second offer from the Premier League and it seems likely that this was from Fulham. But with financial restrictions biting for English sides and in Fulham’s case, Joao Palhinha staying, the money isn’t there to up the bid.

In consequence, it now seems unlikely that Andre will be going anywhere between now and tomorrow.

We’d still be pleased to see Liverpool have a change of heart and come back in. It would benefit all parties. But once you’ve said no to the Reds, the ship tends to have sailed.