Bernard- Athletico Minero
The 20 year old is one of many highly rated Brazilian midfielders and has been strongly linked with a move to Europe this summer. Many of Bernard’s countrymen now play in Europe, so it is easy to assume that sooner or later, Bernard will make the move that many other Brazilians have made. Bernard was part of Brazil’s Confederations Cup squad and impressed many of the scouts that were sent by top teams, including scouts from Liverpool. The Reds may now turn their attentions to Bernard as they have missed out on one of their top transfer targets, Henrikh Mkhitaryan, who choose a move to Borussia Dortmund over Liverpool.
Like Mkhitaryan, Bernard is a play-maker and Brendan Rodgers is desperate to sign a quality midfielder that can help the club break into the Premier League’s top four. Most of the top clubs in the Premier League have a player who can open up opposition defences and now Mkhitaryan is out of the question, Rodgers may turn to Bernard. Spurs were also understood to be interested in the Brazilian but they recently signed another Brazilian, Paulinho, meaning they do not need another central midfielder. This has left Liverpool with the opportunity to entice Bernard to Anfield and the midfielder will reportedly be available for between £15-20 million, less than what Liverpool would have paid had they been successful signing Mkhitaryan. Liverpool are quite willing to spend big money on a player this summer having recently sold Andy Carroll for £15.5 million and Bernard could now become their main transfer target as the summer progresses.