Southampton’s apparent refusal to accept Liverpool’s bid for Romeo Lavia has opened up the possibility of highly-rated Fluminense star, Andre, joining the club.
According to a tweet from Sky Sports, the Reds have made the first contact with the Brazilian club regarding the player’s availability.
Whether there is genuine interest or the move is to get Southampton to lower Lavia’s asking price isn’t clear at this stage.
Liverpool have officially made contact with Fluminense over the possibility of signing midfielder Andre ? pic.twitter.com/if6Ov3awXz
— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) August 1, 2023
What does appear to be known is how much it would take to prise Andre from Fluminense either now or in January.
According to journalist, Caua Tinoco via a tweet from LFC Transfer Room, if the Premier League outfit come up with €40m now they can sign the midfielder immediately, or if they pay €20m now they can sign him in January.
Given that the higher figure is still lower than that which has just been turned down by Southampton for Lavia (£41m), a deal for the 22-year-old before the beginning of the 2023/24 Premier League campaign would make sense.
The only possible issue is the lack of time that Jurgen Klopp would have to work with the player before the season begins.
To that end, if the German were to ask for the recruitment team to press ahead with Andre’s hire, perhaps the manager would look to ease the player in over a period of weeks rather than throwing him straight in at the deep end.