Fabrizio Romano says 22-year-old ‘talent’ is being closely watched after Liverpool links

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With plans now taking shape for Liverpool at sporting director level, they can begin to look ahead to the summer transfer window.

Not many Reds fans will have seen this coming, but from the summer they’ll have Michael Edwards running things again. With Edwards set to form a new dream team with Richard Hughes, Liverpool will surely continue to forge their reputation as wily operators in the transfer market.

In that regard, we’re already seeing links form for potential targets for this summer. One player said to be very much on Liverpool’s radar is Porto midfielder Alan Varela. Varela has been excellent this season after joining in a cut-price deal from Boca Juniors. The Reds are claimed to have been impressed.

But according to journalist Fabrizio Romano, others across Europe have been, too. Without mentioning Liverpool specifically, Romano shared an update on Varela’s transfer situation on The Daily Briefing today.

“Several European top clubs were in attendance at the Emirates Stadium for Tuesday’s game between Arsenal and Porto to keep close eye on Alan Varela,” the transfer expert reports. “The Argentine midfielder is understood to be on the list of many clubs from the Premier League and elsewhere.

“Varela looks a fine young talent and could be an interesting option as he has a release clause worth around €70m [£60m]. That will be Porto’s asking price for any sale this summer, so let’s see if anyone’s ready to pay it, but for sure many clubs appreciate him in England and in other countries.”

Varela race hots up

In some ways, it’s frustrating that Liverpool didn’t take a chance on Varela last summer. In need of a long-term option at defensive midfield, the 22-year-old would have been a great option.

However, the Reds still seemingly have question marks over bringing players direct from South America. It’s clear that they’d rather let them settle in Europe first before then evaluating how they’ve gotten on.

In fairness, it worked for both Luis Diaz and Darwin Nunez, who – like Varela – stopped off in Portugal before earning their moves to Liverpool.

But it’s also true that the Reds had to pay big, big fees to get both of those players. With a hefty release clause, Varela looks like he’ll be no different.

Nevertheless, Liverpool were one of the sides reported to have been attendance at the Emirates to watch the Argentine on Tuesday.

There are other players worth watching at Porto – centre-back Otavio being one – so it perhaps isn’t rare for the Reds to send scouts to a game like this.

But of all the potential signings playing for the Dragons right now, Varela looks like being the one.

Clearly, other clubs have had the same idea. You can’t be as good as the former Boca man has been this year and not attract attention. As Romano says, let’s see if anyone triggers that release clause. Keep an eye on this.