1 year ago
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Photo by Buda Mendes/Getty Images
The president of the Brazilian club has spoken about Liverpool’s interest in deep lying playmaker André.
Liverpool’s interest in Fluminense deep lying playmaker André was widely reported over the summer, but his club were firm in that they were unwilling to sell a key player in the middle of the Brazilian season and involved in a push to win the Copa Libertadores.
The club’s president, Mário Bittencourt, has now confirmed as much, speaking to the press this week about the situation—and suggesting that if Liverpool’s interest remains, a deal might yet happen in January after the Brasileirão and Libertadores wrap up.
“The executive director of Liverpool contacted me,” Bittencourt said. “I replied to him, ‘My friend, I can’t sell the player now. If you want to buy him and wait to take him in January we can talk, or if you want to wait until December we can talk again in December.’”
Quite clearly, Liverpool didn’t opt for the option of buying André now and waiting until January for him to move to England. With the signing of Ryan Gravenberch, it’s also not entirely clear how much interest remains in André from the Liverpool side.
With only two midfielders over the age of 24 and a midfield that now counts Alexis Mac Allister, Dominik Szoboszlai, Wataru Endo, Ryan Gravenberch, Thiago Alcantara, Harvey Elliott, Curtis Jones, and Stefan Bajcetic as options, there seems little room.
With Thiago likely to depart in the summer, then, whether there’s still a place for a player like André will likely depend on how the new signings settle, the young players develop, and whether those players collectively can be counted on to mostly stay fit.
