Chelsea

Liverpool Join Chelsea & Man Utd In Race To Sign Portuguese Star

Liverpool have joined Premier League rivals Chelsea and Manchester United in the race to sign Sporting Lisbon midfielder Joao Mario this summer

by
Fraser Crawford
June 3, 2016

The opening of the summer transfer window is fast approaching so we’ll bring you all the latest transfer rumours and gossip from around the globe. Today, Liverpool join the race to sign Joao Mario….

Liverpool have joined Premier League rivals Chelsea and Manchester United in the race to sign Sporting Lisbon midfielder Joao Mario this summer, according to Portuguese outlet A Bola.

Mario has been in excellent form since breaking in to the Sporting Lisbon first team in 2014 and chipped in with 6 goals and 11 assists to help them push Benfica all the way in the Primeira Liga title race last season.

Lisbon eventually missed out after finishing two points adrift in second but they secured qualification to the Champions League next season – although it remains to be seen whether Mario will still be around to take part in Europe’s elite competition.

That’s because the Portuguese international has been attracting plenty of interest form the Premier League with the Express reporting last month that Chelsea were desperate to beat Manchester United to a deal worth £38.7m for Mario’s signature.

In-coming Blues boss Antonio Conte isn’t due to officially start work at Chelsea until he’s fulfilled his duties with the Italian national team at Euro 2016 but he’s already got his new employers working on transfer targets with Mario seemingly on his radar.

New United boss Jose Mourinho is also expected to be busy in the transfer market as he looks to revamp the squad left behind by Louis van Gaal and Mario could be the man to rejuvenate the central midfield area with Michael Carrick out of contract this month while Bastian Schweinsteiger saw his debut season in England hampered by injuries.

However, it looks as though Chelsea and United will now face fresh competition as Portuguese outlet A Bola claim that Liverpool have now joined their rivals in the race for Mario’s signature this summer.

Jurgen Klopp has already brought in three new faces but the German coach is keen to further strengthen his midfield options and the newspaper says he’s turned his attention to Mario after seemingly missing out on Mario Gotze.

We’ll have to wait and see how things develop over the coming weeks but it looks as though three of England’s most powerful clubs are ready to battle-it-out over the signing of the Portuguese midfielder this summer.