Liverpool open bidding with cheeky proposal for £52m-rated Arsenal centre-back target
Goncalo Inacio is a target for Arsenal and Liverpool
Liverpool have reportedly lodged an opening offer of around £26million for Goncalo Inacio, despite the Sporting CP centre-back being protected by a £52million release clause.
The Reds are hamstrung in defensive areas at the moment. Indeed, each of Joel Matip, Andy Robertson and Kostas Tsimikas are out injured, the former probably for the season.
And while two left-backs being out would suggest more of a problem on the left than the centre, it’s hindering both areas.
That’s as central defender Joe Gomez is deputising on the left, which meant 20-year-old Jarell Quansah started at centre-back against Burnley two games ago.
While they won and kept a clean sheet, that was against one of the bottom sides in the division. The following game, with Ibrahima Konate partnering Virgil van Dijk, Liverpool conceded twice to Newcastle.
Given the standards the Reds set for themselves, they’ll want a top defender partnering the Dutchman so they can keep their standing at the top of the table. On top of that, they’ll want to ensure they’ve got enough depth to deal with any more injuries.
As such, they’re on the hunt for a top centre-back and it seems Sporting’s Inacio is their favourite option.
It was recently reported he was being ‘surrounded’ by Liverpool officials trying to convince him to move.
Liverpool lodge half-price Inacio bid
Subsequently, it was reported that Premier League rivals Arsenal were ‘best positioned’ to sign the Portuguese defender.
Liverpool’s opening offer might have done little to change their standing.
According to Jorge das Transferencias, the Reds have lodged a €30million (approx £26million) bid for Inacio.
It’s also said they are the club ‘most interested’ in snaring him in January.
However, it’s unlikely Sporting will give them the time of day, given the Liverpool bid is worth half of the defender’s £52million release clause.
While clubs do sometimes accept offers below a release clause if they need money, it’s been reported that any side will have to trigger that clause in order to get Inacio.
With interest in his centre-back partner, Ousmane Diomande, too, Sporting aren’t likely to just allow Inacio to go for a measly fee.
They want top dollar for both men, and Liverpool aren’t likely to have moved any closer to the signing through their opening offer.
Only Jude Bellingham can match ‘special’ 22-year-old Liverpool midfielder in Europe this season
However, in the end Liverpool cannot rue their decision. Even though Bellingham is impressing for Real Madrid, the Reds were able to get Dominik Szoboszlai and Alexis Mac Allister for around the same price – which is not a bad compromise.
On top of that some of the Reds’ other midfielders have also elevated their performances this season and have emerged as some of the leading players in Europe at the moment.
One of them has been Curtis Jones.
Only Bellingham is better than Curtis Jones
Looking at English midfielders who have played at least 900 minutes in all competitions (league, domestic and European cups) from Europe’s top five leagues, Curtis Jones currently has the second most non-penalty goal contributions per 90 with an average of 0.51. Only Bellingham is better than the Liverpool midfielder with a return of 1.08 per 90.
Below Jones, is James Ward-Prowse with 0.50. Meanwhile, Cole Palmer has 0.71, but he’s been excluded as he has played most of his minutes as a winger for Chelsea this season.
It’s really impressive stuff from the Liverpool midfielder. And the exciting prospect about Jones is that he is just getting started.
His first game of 2024 saw Jurgen Klopp purring about his ‘special, special’ game against Newcastle United. But you get the sense that there is much more to come.
Liverpool have categorically denied that they’re set to raid another Premier League club this month.
With the New Year brings the January transfer window. And as of Monday, that window is now wide open. Liverpool can do business once more.
Bearing this in mind, the Reds have been linked with plenty of players. One of those has been Fulham left-back Antonee Robinson.
As they currently have a grand total of zero fit, natural left-backs in their squad, bringing in a new one right now would seem like a decent idea.
But speaking on The Athletic’s ‘Walk On’ podcast, journalist James Pearce says that when he asked those at Liverpool about a move for Robinson, they ridiculed the idea.
“I think Liverpool were linked with Robinson, the full-back at Fulham,” Pearce began. “When you check that out you’re told ‘well, why on earth would we sign another left-back when hopefully Robertson will be back by the end of January’. You can’t just stock pile senior left backs.”
Liverpool dismiss Robinson rumours
We take Liverpool’s point here. While it’s unfortunate that both Andy Robertson and Kostas Tsimikas are injured at the same time, adding another doesn’t make sense.
If one of those two were heading out of the door in the summer, that might be different.
But Robertson has been a key player for the Reds and will be again once back fit. Meanwhile, Tsimikas signed a new deal earlier this season and is still just 27.
As a result, bringing in someone new – like Robinson – would simply make things difficult moving forward.
Liverpool have Joe Gomez filling in for the time being, while Owen Beck’s recall from Dundee offers up another option, and a big opportunity for the 21-year-old.
Most fans would rather see a promising youngster like Beck given a go rather than spend the reported £35m it would take to sign Robinson [Evening Standard].
We actually really like the look of the Fulham man, so this is nothing to do with him. He just isn’t what Liverpool need at the moment. It would be overkill.
Unless anything changes drastically between now and January 31st, it looks like the Reds feel the same.
January is always a difficult window to operate in. But with Liverpool’s desire to recruit a centre-back this month, it’s even more difficult for the club.
Centre-backs are often the backbone of a team. Virgil van Dijk exemplifies this perfectly. If you lose your key centre-back, sometimes everything can fall apart. Which is why clubs won’t want to sell their prized assets midway through the season.
And that is why operating in this environment is extremely difficult for the club.
The latest player who Liverpool fans can potentially cross from their list of potential targets this month is Edmond Tapsoba of Bayer Leverkusen. The Burkina Faso defender has thrived under Xabi Alonso this season, and his versatility makes him an ideal candidate for Liverpool.
However, according to The Athletic, it would be ‘virtually impossible’ to sign him in the January window.
No surprises regarding Edmond Tapsoba
Tapsoba is expected to spend the majority of the month away at the African Cup of Nations so that also complicates things in terms of a potential move this month.
However, in the long-term looking ahead to the summer, it would not be a surprise if Liverpool pursued him further.
It’s easy to forget that Dominik Szoboszlai was not the first Hungarian to sign for Liverpool. The club actually surprisingly has a long list of players from Szoboszlai’s homeland who have either represented the first team or the academy.
The first was Istvan Kozman all the way back in the 90s – over a decade before Liverpool signed Szoboszlai. But the big surge began in 2007, when Liverpool signed Andras Simon and Krisztian Nemeth and created a partnership with Hungarian side MTK Budapest.
That saw the likes of Peter Gulacsi, Krisztian Adorjan and Kristof Polgar join Liverpool’s academy among several others.
Even more went on trial at the club, including one player who is now teammates with Liverpool’s number eight at international level.
Patrik Demjen
Patrik Demjen is currently the first choice goalkeeper for MTK Budapest, and a regular member of the senior Hungarian national team.
Back in 2013, I exclusively reported about his trial for Liverpool Academy Blog, where the young Hungarian goalkeeper impressed the club’s academy staff. However, in the end with players like Caoimhin Kelleher and Kamil Grabara also on the club’s radar and in the same age-group as Demjen, the Reds opted not to sign the Hungarian stopper.
Now, reflecting 10 years on from his experience, Demjen has been talking to NB1.hu about how he found his trial process at Liverpool.
“Yes, I was at Liverpool with Balint Vogyicska. We were there twice for four to six days,” Demjen said as translated by Rousing the Kop.
“Truthfully, I had very good feedback. When we went out there, we always started in the same age-group as we were in, maybe it’s stayed in my memory differently, but I remember that when they moved us up an age-group we started to grow into things in terms of performance and meet the expectations that were there at the time.
“For me from a goalkeeper perspective, the biggest thing was that physically they absolutely killed me. In that area they were really good. I think they were doing that since they were 11 years old, and so they could take it really well. But with everything else in my opinion I was ahead of them.”
It’s a shame things never worked out for Demjen, he is one of the best young goalkeepers in the Hungarian league and has an incredible record of saving 8 of the 29 penalties he has faced in the league.
At the same time, Liverpool won’t regret their choice. The players who the club brought in after Demjen like Kelleher and Grabara have both turned out to have impressive careers.
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