After having a big-money bid rejected by Southampton for Romeo Lavia, Liverpool may be better off turning to Fluminense star Andre.
Liverpool are at risk of losing out on Romeo Lavia the longer the transfer saga drags on, but they may already have an alternative lined up in Fluminense midfielder Andre.
Who do Liverpool want to buy this summer?
It has already been a busy window for Jurgen Klopp’s side, having spent close to £100m on bringing in Alexis Mac Allister and Dominik Szoboszlai to strengthen their midfield.
Those arrivals helped offset the departures of Naby Keita, James Milner and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, but Klopp will almost certainly need another player in that position as Jordan Henderson and Fabinho are widely expected to depart for teams in Saudi Arabia.
Lavia is top of the Reds’ wishlist, but The Athletic’s David Ornstein reported on Tuesday that their initial offer of £37m was rejected by Southampton, who may be looking for a sum closer to the £50m mark.
That means Liverpool could be left disappointed in their pursuit of a player they are clearly eager to sign, but supporters should fear not.
According to Football Transfers, the Merseyside outfit are one of a number of Premier League clubs to have made an initial approach for talented ace Andre, and Fluminense are open to selling the €25m-valued (£21m) midfielder at the end of the Brazilian Serie A season.
Who is Brazilian midfielder Andre?
Andre – or Andre Trindade da Costa Neto, to give him his full name – is a 22-year-old midfielder who has spent his three-year senior career to date with Fluminense.
The Ibirataia native has made 110 league appearances for the Tricolor, scoring three teams. Indeed, Andre is far more accustomed to picking up yellow cards than creating goals, having been cautioned a pretty incredible 31 times already, as per Soccerway.
That provides a strong indication of what Andre’s game is all about; a player who is in the side to help break things up, rather than get forward and finish off chances himself.
There are plenty of comparisons to be made between Andre and fellow Liverpool target Lavia, who picked up nine yellow cards in 29 Premier League appearances last season.
Lavia-Man-United-Ten-Hag-Amrabat-Premier-League-transfer
For added context, Fabinho received 11 bookings last season – no other Liverpool player received more than five – so that destructive midfielder is very much what Klopp is seeking.
As already touched on, neither Andre nor Lavia are in the side to score goals, as reflected in their near identical returns of 0.47 and 0.49 shots every 90 minutes respectively, as per FBref.
Andre has a better pass-completion percentage than Lavia (93.2 v 86.2) and boasts a better take-on success rate (59.4% v 56%), though the quality of the two divisions must be factored in.
Described as “incredible” by Brazilian journalist Victor Canedo, 5 foot 8 Andre also outshines Lavia in key defensive metrics such as tackles won per 90 (1.72 v 1.42) and interceptions per 90 (1.56 v 1.34).
The advantage of signing Lavia is that he has Premier League experience, but if it is a cheaper alternative the Reds want in an identical mould, then Andre may just be Klopp’s ideal signing.
