Transfer News: Liverpool In Battle To Sign £17.5m South American Forward

The January transfer window is coming to a close so clubs are working hard trying to strengthen their squads for the second half of the season and put deals in place for the summer. Today, Liverpool face competition to sign Luan….

Liverpool face competition from Newcastle United for the signature of £17.5m-rated Gremio forward Luan, according to a report in the Mirror.

Luan joined Gremio in 2013 following a short spell at Catanduvense and the attacker has developed in to one of the hottest prospects in Brazilian football over the past few years.

The 24-year-old scored eight goals in 12 games during the 2017 Copa Libertadores and is pushing to be included in the Brazil squad for the World Cup Finals having recently won his first two caps for his country.

The attacking midfielders impressive form has attracted interest from the Premier League with Liverpool strongly linked with a move for Luan over the past few weeks.

TeamTalk reported last week that the Merseysiders were in talks with Gremio trying to thrash out a deal that would see the South American move to Anfield at the end of the season.

Jurgen Klopp has hinted he’s unlikely to add to his squad this month but the Liverpool boss needs to strengthen his attacking options after selling Philippe Coutinho to Barcelona while Daniel Sturridge has also joined West Brom.

Luan would be a useful addition as he’s scored 55 goals in 210 games for Gremio and he’s comfortable playing anywhere across the attacking positions so he’d give Klopp plenty of options in the final third if a deal could be agreed.

However, it looks like Liverpool will face competition for his signature as the Mirror are citing a report from the Daily Mail that claims Newcastle are now trying to sign Luan from under their noses.

The newspaper says Rafa Benitez would ideally like to sign the attacker before the close of the January transfer window and Newcastle can secure a deal if they pay Gremio £17.5m.

READ MORE –> Liverpool transfer news

We’ll have to wait and see whether Newcastle’s interest will force Liverpool to step up their pursuit but it seems Luan could be heading to the Premier League over the coming months.