Liverpool are considering a move for Fluminense midfielder Andre Trindade, after seeing a third offer for Romeo Lavia rejected by Southampton.
It’s no secret that Jurgen Klopp wants to bring in another central midfielder this summer after the departures of Fabinho and Jordan Henderson.
Lavia is considered to be the manager’s top target. After seeing a third bid worth £46m rejected for the Belgian, however, Liverpool appear to have formulated a contingency plan.
One potential second-choice option is Andre. He is widely considered to be one of the best midfielders in South America and at the age of 22 is only expected to improve as he gains experience.
According to Brazilian outlet Netflu, Liverpool are ‘ready’ to make a move for Andre this summer as they are reluctant to pay Southampton’s £50m price tag for Lavia.
Andre would be a cheaper option as he has a release clause of €40m (£34m) in his contract, which Liverpool can clearly afford.
He has also expressed his willingness to play for a Premier League team in the past. During the January window, he could have joined Fulham but decided the timing wasn’t right for him.
Speaking in an interview, Andre said: “I was living a moment where my wife was in the final stages of her pregnancy, in November, December, my son was due in January, and I chose to stay here [in Brazil].
“It was the big reason why it didn’t advance any conversation. We can’t avoid a proposal, so it happened, but from the beginning, we already knew that the base of last year, we would continue for this year, for us to aim for big things.”
Andre added, however, that he still dreams of playing in the Premier League: “Oh yes, absolutely. I think it’s everybody’s dream. I’m still 22 years old, I think that today the best possible example is Bruno Guimaraes, I think he left at 24, if I’m not mistaken. He’s a player I’m a fan of.
“He went to Lyon, after Lyon took a step towards the Premier League. So he’s a great example, a great player that I’m a big fan of, I think he carries that Newcastle team on his back.”
With that in mind, it will be interesting to see if Liverpool meet Andre’s £34m release clause and make his Premier League dreams come true this summer.
The only thing that stands in the way, though, is that Fluminense would prefer to sell the midfielder after their Copa Libertadores run campaign comes to an end.They are set to face Argentinos Juniors in the Round of 16 on Tuesday night, so Liverpool could get the chance to sign Andre very soon, depending on the result of the match.
What’s certain, is that the Brazilian is a player for Reds fans to keep an eye on as they look for alternatives to Lavia.
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