Liverpool January transfer explodes into life as Klopp gets green light to sign €40m target; club president vows to help Reds land upgrade for ‘lost’ summer arrival
Andre of Fluminense is a target for Liverpool
Liverpool have been given the go-ahead to sign Brazilian star Andre in the January window after his club president has explained why he did not sanction his star player’s sale this summer.
The Reds spent the entire summer rebuilding their midfield with four new arrivals coming in at Anfield. Spending a combined fee of £145.2m, Alexis Mac Allister, Dominik Szoboszlai, Waturu Endo and finally, on deadline day, Ryan Gravenberch, were all brought in.
And with six names departing Merseyside over the summer, Jurgen Klopp has breathed fresh life and energy into an area of his side that looked surprisingly stagnant last season.
It may well take time for the new arrivals to gel together at Anfield. As such, a title challenge may prove a tall order, though much may well depend on the outcome of prolonged Saudi Arabia interest in Mo Salah. To that end, crucial and final talks over a move to Al-Ittihad will be held later today amid claims they will present a ‘very disturbing’ offer for Salah.
In the meantime, however, Klopp will hope and pray that Liverpool will not cave in over Salah given his incredible importance to the side. Having him firing on all cylinders will ease the pressure on their new-look midfield, who will also be expected to chip with their share of goals.
To that end, Szoboszlai has already showed the way with an absolute cracker against Aston Villa on Sunday.
Indeed, the Hungarian has looked instantly at home in the Liverpool midfield and appears destined for big things. Klopp will also have high hopes for World Cup winner Mac Allister, while Dutch Gravenberch will arrive with a big point to prove after a frustrating season at Bayern Munich.
READ MORE ~ Liverpool transfers: Klopp advised to sign Dutch pair in January with Leeds target deemed ideal addition
Waturu Endo may have only been second choice for Liverpool
Of their four midfield recruits this summer, though, it is the signing of Endo that perhaps raised the most eyebrows. Klopp had to seek special permission from FSG over the 30-year-old’s signing, with the Reds deviating from their policy of not signing players in the autumn of their careers.
Not too much was known about the Japan star outside both his homeland and Germany where he plied his trade. As such, the £16.2m signing of the star from Stuttgart caught many by surprise.
The defensive midfielder has been signed as Fabinho’s replacement as No 6 at the base of their midfield. Klopp has used him three times so far, with the player starting at Newcastle and coming off the bench against Bournemouth and Villa.
A low-key start so far, Endo has an average rating of just 6.17 so far on Whoscored with Klopp himself admitting in a recent interview the player looked ‘lost’ and had ‘no clue what to do’ during the match at St James’ Park.
And while Endo himself insists Klopp has his back and that his comments were simply misconstrued, doubts have been raised over the player’s long-term suitability at Anfield.
Indeed, Liverpool only moved for the Japan international after an approach to sign Andre was rebuffed by his club Fluminense.
Andre transfer to Liverpool gets Fluminense green light
And while Liverpool never got around to making a formal bid for the player, they were scared off a potential move after the Brazilian side made it clear that any approach would be firmly rejected.
Indeed, they had no intention of selling the once-capped Brazil international while still involved in the Copa Libertadores.
However, Fluminense’s president Mario Bittencourt is adamant Liverpool’s interest remains ahead of the winter window and he has now cleared the path for Andre to move to Anfield in January.
“The chief executive of Liverpool contacted me directly,” Bittencourt told Caua Tinoco. “And I replied to him: ‘My friend, I don’t sell a player now and I don’t deliver now. If you want to buy now to take in January, we can start talking, or if you want to wait until December and we talk in December.”
Andre has a €40m (£34.3m) release clause in his deal and they would be powerless to block the move if Liverpool meet that asking price.
However, talk is growing that the Brazilian side could be talked into selling the star for less than his exit fee.
Explaining why a summer deal was not a consideration, though, Bittencourt added: “Saying this first hand, we didn’t receive a proposal for him, only surveys for Andre.
“We chose not to sell him because we believed that we would reach the final stages of the Libertadores. It was a decision sporting criteria.”
Andre has made 150 appearances for Fluminense since debuting in 2020, scoring three goals. He’s regarded as one of Brazilian’s football’s best up and coming No 6s and appears the next Samba star destined to move to European football.
