Ruben Amorim wants Liverpool to make a top Porto star the first signing of his new era at Anfield, Leeds are sweating as Xabi Alonso ordered Bayer Leverkusen to sign their top star, while Man Utd are chasing a club-record deal for a €150m-rated attacker.
AMORIM WANTS ALAN VARELA AS FIRST SIGNING OF LIVERPOOL ERA
Incoming new Liverpool manager Ruben Amorim has reportedly requested the Reds bring Porto star Alan Varela to the club as plans for his new era at Anfield get underway.
The Reds have seemingly settled on the appointment of Sporting Lisbon coach Amorim as the successor to Jurgen Klopp on Merseyside after drawing a blank with their first option for the vacancy in Xabi Alonso.
The hunt for Klopp’s successor is being led by returning Michael Edwards – in his sparkly new role as CEO of footballl – and he has honed in on the 39-year-old as his new top pick.
And with TEAMtalk sources revealing Amorim has told Sporting he wants to make the move to Liverpool this summer, Edwards has reportedly held preliminary talks with his agent, Raul Costa, over a move to Anfield. And we understand Liverpool are offering Amorim, who boasts a 70.70% win percentage record at Sporting CP, a three-year deal to make the switch this summer.Now according to reports in Portugal, Amorim has already handed Liverpool a list of would-be targets for when he takes charge at Anfield this summer.
Now as part of those talks, it’s claimed Amorim has asked Edwards signs Porto’s dynamic midfielder Varela as the first signing of his new era on Anfield.
Liverpool learn price needed to sign Porto star
Thankfully for Amorim, Liverpool are already quite far down the line in their quest to sign the Argentina Under-23s international.
He was on their radar prior to his move to Porto last summer, with the Reds ultimately deciding to pin their focus instead on the additions of Wataru Endo, Dominik Szoboszlai, Ryan Gravenberch and the brilliant Alexis Mac Allister.
As a result, it was Porto who pushed through his signing for a bargain €8m with €3m in add-ons last summer from Boca Juniors.
However, he has hit the ground the running in the Primeira Liga and quickly established himself as not just one of the best defensive midfielders in Portugal, but also in European football.
His form has already seen Liverpool sit up and take notice of his performances, even prior to their move for Amorim, and O Jogo now claims that their interest has stepped up a notch, having scouted the 22-year-old in great detail in recent weeks.
Indeed, the Portuguese outlet has confirmed the Reds sent an official to the Estadio do Dragao to watch Varela live in action against Vitoria Guimaraes SC on Sunday.
Any deal, however, will not come cheap.
Per the report, the player is protected by a deal to 2028 which includes a €70m (£59.9m) release clause.
It’s suggested there could be some room for negotiation on that but with Amorim making it clear he wants the midfielder as his first signing at Anfield, Porto are likely to try and get as close to that as possible.
Amorim has reportedly identified the base of Liverpool’s midfield as a potential weakness and sees the addition of the 22-year-old – who boasts impressive stats this season – as a key step to fixing that issue and finding a long-term successor to Fabinho as No 6.
Enzo was brought in last summer and has done well for the Reds this season. But at 31-years-of-age, the Reds know they need a long-term solution in there.
Amorim is also expected to target a new central defender too and links to Sporting’s dominant centre-half Goncalo Inacio are also expected to gather pace once the 39-year-old’s appointment at Anfield has been confirmed.
ALONSO TO CELEBRATE BAYER STAY WITH HUGE RAID ON LEEDS
Leeds winger Crysencio Summerville has scouts from Bayer Leverkusen watching him with Xabi Alonso keen to celebrate his decision to stay at the club this summer with a big-money move to bring him to the BayArena. (SportBILD)
Feyenoord have called striker Santiago Gimenez into a summit meeting with the club amid claims his agent has fielded enquiries from both Tottenham and Napoli over a possible summer move and in an effort to find out if the €50m-rated Mexican intends to stay or leave. (Corriere dello Sport)
Sources in Italy have confirmed Mason Greenwood is very much Juventus’ top transfer target this summer as the Italians look to prise the 22-year-old away from Manchester United in a big-money deal. (Gazzetta dello Sport)
AC Milan are warning Theo Hernandez’s suitors that it would take an offer of €100m (£85.5m) to prise the French full-back away from the San Siro amid claims Manchester United and Chelsea are sounding him out. (various)
Chelsea plan to send youngster Kendry Paez to Strasbourg next season when he joins the club on a permanent basis from Ecuador. (El Canal del Futbol)
The agent for Lazio captain Ciro Immobile, Alessandro Moggi, insists his client wants to stay where he is amid claims he is the subject of an approach from Napoli who want him in a swap deal for Giovanni Simeone. (Tuttomercatoweb)
VILLA PREPARE GIANT OFFER TO TEMPT ATLETICO MADRID STAR TO SIGN
Aston Villa have launched a giant offer to prise Atletico Madrid’s Mario Hermoso to Villa Park this summer, with his deal at the Wanda Metropolitano due to expire this summer. (Calciomercato)
Jorge Mendes is trying to engineer a swap deal between Barcelona and Atletico Madrid with Joao Felix set to make a move to the Nou Camp permanent and with Ansu Fati moving to the Spanish capital as part of a swap deal. (Relevo)
Arsenal are battling Manchester United to sign Wolves’ Brazil midfielder Joao Gomes, 23, this summer, amid claims an offer of £60m would tempt the Molineux outfit to sell. (O Dia)
PSG are not on the trail of Barcelona midfielder Gavi this summer and have no intentions of trying to lure him to the Parc des Princes, despite being an admirer of his services. (Fabrizio Romano)
Tottenham are very much on the trail of Athletic Bilbao winger Nico Williams, but face strong competition from both Chelsea and Barcelona for the 21-year-old Spain winger, who has a €50m (£42.8m) clause in his deal. (Sport)
Sevilla defender Sergio Ramos is reluctant to stay beyond the end of his deal this summer amid speculation that a move to MLS is gathering pace. (Relevo)
MAN UTD EXPLORE MAMMOTH DEAL TO SIGN MILAN WINGER
Manchester United are looking into a club record summer move for Rafael Leao and will not be put off by AC Milan’s mammoth €150m asking price for the Portuguese winger. (various)
Man Utd are taking a fancy to AC Milan winger Rafael Leao
Juventus have opened talks for Mattia Zaccagni with the Lazio winger set to leave with a year left on his deal. (Corriere di Roma)
Girona sporting director Quique Carcel is hopeful that their captain Aleix Garcia will not be lured away by Barcelona this summer. (Mundo Deportivo)Real Madrid are hoping for a cash windfall this summer after talented 22-year-old midfielder Sergio Arribas admitted he is keen to leave Almeria. (AS)
