Chelsea’s €60M bid rejected: Liverpool want to sign him but must pay €120M release clause
Chelsea have had a bid for 20-year-old centre-back Antonio Silva rejected by Benfica amid claims Liverpool want to sign him.
The Blues tabled a €60 million (£51.5M) offer but were turned away, according to Portuguese outlet A Bola, due to the huge release clause in his contract.
Chelsea, Manchester United and Liverpool are all interested but will have to fork out €120 million (£103M) to sign him this month or in the summer transfer window.
Liverpool want to sign Antonio Silva
Recent reports have covered Liverpool’s transfer pursuit of 20-year-old Silva. The Benfica centre-back has been wonderful for the Portuguese side this season and with Jurgen Klopp in need of defensive reinforcements, their scouting of Silva has yielded positive reports.
According to a report from Record in November, Liverpool want to sign the £103M-rated defender but his price tag presents a huge barrier to securing his signature.
It seems incredibly unlikely that Liverpool would spend so much to sign such a young player even if he’s incredibly talented and potentially a future world class player.
The Reds have a history of conducting smart, cost effective moves for young players with huge potential.
Unfortunately, Benfica have done a very good job of protecting this particular player from unwanted transfer approaches and it may see Liverpool end their interest in him if Benfica hold to that valuation.
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Liverpool scout 19-year-old in huge title clash – but Arsenal and Man Utd did as well
Premier League scouts closely observed Benfica’s young talent Joao Neves during his team’s 2-1 thrilling win against Sporting Lisbon, which he helped win with a dramatic late goal.
Chelsea, Manchester City, Tottenham, Newcastle, Aston Villa and West Ham United had representatives at the match, according to 90 Min.
Also scouted was Goncalo Inacio, although he was sent off for two yellow cards.
It was something of a scout-fest, as reps from Barcelona, Paris Saint-Germain, Milan, Juventus, Napoli, Atalanta, Bayern Munich, Borussia Dortmund, Bayer Leverkusen and Celtic were also there to watch Neves.
Still only 19, Neves has already made 38 appearances for Benfica and helped to level the game during injury time prior to Casper Tengstedt’s last-minute goal that secured the victory.
Liverpool also scouted Antonio Silva amid €120 million transfer talk
It’s reported that Neves wasn’t the only player being scouted that day in the Estadio do Dragao.
Liverpool and United were reportedly keeping a close eye on their prospective defensive recruits, Goncalo Inacio and Antonio Silva, who, respectively, were sent off and contributed to Benfica’s victory.
Other Premier League clubs, which include Chelsea, Tottenham, Newcastle, Aston Villa, and West Ham United, had their scouts at the match as well.
Liverpool were linked with Silva in September but his €120 million release clause is a major obstacle to an Anfield transfer.
Liverpool free to sign £35M ace better than all the Brazilian midfielder in the Premier League
Liverpool are in the clear to sign Andre Trindade from Fluminense this month after Fulham ended their pursuit of the midfielder, who is said to be better than all the Brazilian midfielders in the Premier League.
The Reds’ pursuit of 22-year-old defensive midfielder turned cold at the end of 2023 but now, they could sign him uncontested after he bid farewell to Brazil last week.
Fluminense haven’t received any offers for Andre yet
According to Victor Lessa, Fluminense have not yet received any offers for Andre. The journalist claims the midfielder may now regret turning Liverpool down to remain in Brazil to challenge for the Copa Libertadores title.
Fluminense won the tournament so the decision paid off but he may be left stranded if the January transfer window slams shut without any offers being made to sign him.
Liverpool could choose to return for him but it seems likelier that they will bide their time until the summer when it will be easier to find a world class defensive midfielder.
He remains a top talent and apparently he is already better than all the Brazilian midfielders playing in England.
Andre is better than all the Brazilian midfielders in the Premier League
Liverpool are no stranger to a top Brazilian playing in their midfield with the likes of Fabinho and Philippe Coutinho strutting their stuff at Anfield in recent years.
If Andre were to move to Liverpool, he could already be better than all his compatriots in midfield playing in the Premier League.
Speaking to Sky Sports Transfer Centre, South American expert Tom Vickery says he would be.
“It’s amazing to me that Andre is still playing for Fluminense in Brazil,” the journalist said.
“Think of the Brazilian central midfielders doing well in the Premier League: Douglas Luiz, Joao Gomes, Danilo, Bruno Guimaraes – Andre might just be the best of the bunch.
“He reminds me a little bit of a young Javier Mascherano, who was so good for Argentina, for Liverpool and for Barcelona. He’s fierce in the tackle, covers a lot of space and, also, he plays for a side that play out from the back, so he really has to receive the ball in pressure situations.
“It’s a real surprise to me that he’s still in Brazil and that he’s not attracting interest from the very biggest clubs.”
Liverpool in contact with sensational player’s agents, set for imminent transfer talks
Liverpool are in contact with Kylian Mbappe’s entourage and are in the clear to hold talks with him this month ahead of a potential summer transfer to Anfield this year.
With his mother one of his agents, Liverpool might privately feel as though they stand a genuine chance of signing the 25-year-old when his contract expires in less than six months.
According to the Telegraph, Mbappe has “genuine affection” for Liverpool and with talks set to be held, it will be interesting to see what decision he makes on his future.
Liverpool are in contact with Kylian Mbappe’s representatives over 2024 summer transfer
According to a new report from French outlet L’Equipe, Liverpool are in contact with Kylian Mbappe’s entourage.
Reportedly, they have remained in contact with him and his camp since they held talks to sign him in 2022.
Liverpool also flew his family around on a private jet in 2017 which will remain in the back of their minds as new talks take place.
Confirmed: Liverpool no longer need to fear over “extension clause” and are free to hold talks
Mbappe has already informed PSG that he will not be triggering the option to renew his £ 1.2 million per month contract and will instead let it expire in the summer, freeing him to hold talks with interested clubs.
Real Madrid and Liverpool remain the only two likely options with the La Liga still firm favourites to land his signature in the summer.
He could choose to move to Anfield but it doesn’t seem to be a transfer Liverpool can actually afford given his huge salary demands.
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