Liverpool Make Breakthrough In Negotiations For £38m Chelsea Target

With the winter transfer window in full swing, manager’s are working hard trying to strengthen their squads ahead of the second half of the season. Today, Liverpool close in on Alex Teixeira….

Liverpool have made a breakthrough in their negotiations with Shakhtar Donetsk over the signing of £38m-rated Chelsea target Alex Teixeira, according to the Express.

Teixeira has been strongly linked with a move to the Premier League this month with both Chelsea and Liverpool tracking the Brazilian attacker after watching him score an incredible 26 goals in 26 games for Shakhtar this season.

Chelsea were the first club to be credited with an interest but Liverpool moved in to the driving seat after the Guardian reported last week that chief executive Ian Ayre had flown over to Florida to hold formal talks with Shakhtar officials where an opening £24.6m bid was rejected.

The Mirror then claimed that Chelsea remained confident they would be able to win the race for Teixeira’s signature after the player had previously agreed personal terms over a move to Stamford Bridge.

However, talk of a move to West London has subsided in recent days with Chelsea reportedly turning their attention to Alexanre Pato [via Express] and this has left Liverpool in pole position to secure a deal for Teixeira with the Daily Star claiming on Monday that the 26-year-old had agreed personal terms with the Merseysiders.

Negotiations between the two clubs have continued in recent days and the Express are reporting today that a breakthrough has now been reached with Liverpool reluctantly agreeing to meet Shakhtar’s £38m valuation after seeing a second £29m offer knocked back.

The newspaper suggests that the Reds are now set to table a third bid worth a total of £38m that would see them pay a large fee up front with the remaining balance based on performance-related add ons.

We’ll have to wait and see how much truth there is behind this latest report but ESPN Brazil have also been reporting today that an agreement between Liverpool and Shakhtar is now close and Teixeira is expected to complete his proposed move to Anfield before the end of the month.

Shakhtar have a history of being tough negotiators with the club successfully agreeing huge fees for the likes of Douglas Costa, Fernandinho, Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Willian in recent transfer windows, so it comes as no surprise that Liverpool are going to have to pay big money for Teixeira.

READ MORE –> Chelsea transfer news | Liverpool transfer news

It remains to be seen whether Chelsea will decide to make a late swoop to hijack Liverpool’s deal but for now the Anfield club are closing in on a major signing and Teixeira would be an excellent addition if they’re able to get it over the line this month.

Jurgen Klopp is in desperate need of attacking reinforcements as Christian Benteke is struggling to fit in to his plans and Daniel Sturridge has once again suffered from an injury-plagued campaign, so Teixeira would offer another option in the final third as Liverpool look to make a late push for the top four during the second half of the season.