Liverpool might now have a better chance of signing £51m star than Manchester United

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Liverpool’s team is likely to look a lot different by the time the first game of the 2025-26 Premier League season comes around.

Florian Wirtz’s Anfield switch is now more or less a done deal, with only his medical still to go.

Jeremie Frimpong has already been prised away from Bayer Leverkusen and will no doubt slot straight into Trent Alexander-Arnold’s place in the team.

Indeed, these transfers are all well and good, but unless a few more new faces are added to the Reds’ ranks, they could end up getting left behind by their title rivals.

Of course, many transfer rumours have been shared since the 2024-25 season ended, and now, it seems like Liverpool have an advantage over arch-rivals Manchester United in their pursuit of a £51million-rated target.

Liverpool to enter three-horse race for transfer of Goncalo Inacio from Sporting

As per a report from O Jogo (Print edition, 10/6/25, page 10), Liverpool, Manchester United, and Newcastle are all ‘interested’ in acquiring the services of Goncalo Inacio from Sporting.

The Reds are ‘firmly’ in the race for the centre-back with O Jogo reporting that he could be available for less than his €60million (£51million) release clause this summer.

The report goes on to say that the Portuguese defender has ‘elite experience’ and the ability to ‘grow’ even more than he already has.

Slot’s men have also been linked with Ousmane Diomande over the last few weeks, with both defenders worth around the same amount of money, should a move be sanctioned, of course.

Why Liverpool may have the advantage over Manchester United for Goncalo Inacio

There’s no denying that Inacio is a top-level talent who would be sorely missed by Sporting if he departed.

Diomande and Inacio have formed a solid partnership in the Liga Portugal, with both players performing way above the levels expected of them.

And, aside from the fact that the Reds are in the Champions League compared to United, who finished 15th in the Premier League, there is also a clear path for him into Slot’s starting XI.

Inacio is a left-footed centre-back who Virgil van Dijk would be able to mentor over the next couple of years to become even better.

This mentorship from the Dutchman, coupled with the fact that Jarell Quansah has been linked with Borussia Dortmund, means that a move could easily be pulled off.

Of course, only time will tell what the future holds, but if Liverpool want to sort out their defensive line for years to come, they’d struggle to do much better than Inacio.