Liverpool are eyeing a January move for Fluminense midfielder Andre Trindade as Jurgen Klopp continues to refresh his midfield, according to the Liverpool Echo.
The Reds lost five senior midfielders last summer including former skipper Jordan Henderson and Brazil’s Fabinho – who moved to Saudi Arabia early last month. Naby Keita, James Milner, and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain departed as free agents following the expiration of their contracts.
Klopp brought in four midfielders during the summer transfer window following the arrival of Alexis Mac Allister, Dominik Szoboszlai, Wataru Endo, and Ryan Gravenberch.
The Merseysiders missed out on both Moises Caicedo and Romeo Lavia, who joined Chelsea in big-money moves despite Liverpool agreeing deals with Brighton and Southampton respectively.
It forced Liverpool to look elsewhere and Andre was on the club’s radar. The Brazil midfielder was heavily linked with a move to Anfield. The Premier League club had an initial bid worth £26m rejected by Fluminense, who were reluctant to sell him in the summer.
The Brazilian club insisted that Andre will not be offloaded in the middle of the season with the Campeonato Brasileiro Serie A running across one calendar year.
“We are not going to deceive anyone, we have to make sales, but I can say that it will not be Andre,” the club president Mario Bittencour said.
“We are not going to sell Andre in the middle of the year.
“We even negotiated his renewal. Angioni, our director of football, is negotiating with his representatives. We have no proposals, no inquiries for any player. But the player who can be sold will not be Andre.”
Still interested
Despite Liverpool’s failure to get the deal done in the summer, the Reds remain interested in Andre. According to the Liverpool Echo, Thiago Alcantara’s imminent exit at the end of the season could see Klopp make a move for the South American as his possible replacement.
Alcantara has just one year left on his contract and as it stands, he will leave for free next summer, therefore, Liverpool are already planning to bring in a new midfielder to bolster their squad.
A transfer in January for the Brazil international looks more likely and the Reds could make another offer when the window re-opens. Andre is regarded as one of the best midfielders in Brazil and has helped Fluminense reach the quarter-finals of Copa Libertadores.
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