Portuguese could now be heading to Anfield this summer, and not Old Trafford.
Liverpool are hoping to steal big-money Real Madrid left-back Fabio Coentrao right from under the noses of arch-rivals Manchester United this summer.
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The Portugal international’s days at the Santiago Bernabeu appear to be over, with Madrid head coach Carlo Ancelotti having preferred to utilise Brazilian Marcelo in the role throughout this season instead.
As a result, Coentrao is now expected to leave the Spanish capital when the summer transfer window finally reopens again for business at the start of July, three years after the player first arrived at Los Blancos from Portuguese giants Benfica on a six-year contract in a deal worth a staggering 30m euros.
Initially, though, it was thought that the attacking full back would be moving to the Premier League champions at the end of the campaign, with the Red Devils coming desperately close to actually signing Coentrao on a season-long loan deal on the final day of the summer transfer window.
However, United were unable to complete the required paperwork in time for that deal to go through, although they were still expected to return to sign the defender on a permanent deal worth an estimated £10m this summer.
That is, though, until Liverpool also joined the race for Coentrao’s coveted signature that is, with Reds head coach Brendan Rodgers himself in urgent need of a new left-sided full back to bring to Anfield for the next campaign, especially in light of Spaniard Jose Enrique’s continuing knee problems that have kept the club’s first-choice left back out of action since November.
And now the Merseysiders are hoping to steal a march on United by signing Coentrao before this summer’s Fifa World Cup gets under way in June, with Liverpool having already made initial inquiries with his counterparts in Spain regarding the full back’s availability.