Liverpool could make another signing after Wataru Endo.
Liverpool failed to secure their primary defensive midfield target in Romeo Lavia, with the Southampton ace moving to Chelsea to rub salt into their wounds after Moises Caicedo also chose the Blues over Jurgen Klopp’s side.
This follows the £40m sale of Fabinho to Saudi Arabian side Al-Ittihad in July, a departee that Liverpool need to replace swiftly to ensure that the club have a good chance of succeeding this year after a testing 2022/23 campaign that yielded a fifth-placed Premier League finish, and consequently no Champions League football.
Stuttgart midfielder Wataru Endo, aged 30, seems headed for Anfield for £15m in what could prove to be an impressively astute purchase, but the Japan captain alone cannot transform the Reds’ strength in the centre, and further reinforcement is surely paramount.
According to Anfield Watch, Brasileiro Serie A side Fluminense’s tough-tackling, crisp-passing midfielder Andre is very much on Liverpool’s shortlist this month, though the Reds may have to pay a ‘premium’.
It’s believed that €25m (£22m), plus add-ons and clauses, may be enough for Fluminense to begrudgingly wave goodbye to their prized midfielder, and Liverpool must now make their move for a talent who could blossom into a first-class phenom.
Having been described as a “leader” by talent scout Jacek Kulig, the 22-year-old Andre has captured the attention of the Fluminense faithful with his performances in his homeland, having now chalked up 147 appearances for his only club to date, plundering three goals and assists apiece.
He’s been in fine fettle this term too, earning an average Sofascore rating of 7.11 across 15 top-flight appearances, incredibly completing 94% of his passes, forging 2.3 tackles and 1.5 interceptions per match and succeeding with 73% of his dribbles and 64% of his ground duels.
These last-mentioned percentiles are particularly important; Andre is a proficient ball carrier and a precise and brutish ball-winner, with Fabinho winning just 48% of his ground duels in the Premier League last year.
Not quite the traditional defensive midfielder, the one-cap Brazil prospect ranks among the top 1% of midfielders across Men’s ‘Next Eight’ divisions for pass completion, the top 2% for passes attempted and the top 7% for successful take-ons per 90, as per FBref.
With Endo set for a spell at Anfield, it’s unlikely that the Reds would sign a further two players and if it boils down to either Andre or fellow Liverpool target Ryan Gravenberch, the Brazilian is the man to move for.
Gravenberch was of interest to the Merseyside outfit back in May, but the bulk of reports fizzled out over the summer as Liverpool focussed their attention elsewhere, though they could now return, according to Football Insider.
The 21-year-old Dutchman signed for Bayern Munich from Ajax for €24m (£20m) last summer with a weight of expectation, having been hailed as the Netherlands’ “greatest talent” by former Ajax forward Win Kieft, but started just three times in the Bundesliga all season.
On £153k-per-week, Gravenberch would be an expensive purchase for the Reds and does not boast the same level of passing prowess and aptitude as a midfield vehicle to Andre, ranking among the top 28% of midfielders across Europe’s top five leagues for pass completion, the top 25% for progressive carries and the top 20% for successful take-ons per 90.
He also averages 1.3 tackles and 0.9 interceptions per outing across the duration of his career, as per WhoScored, shadowed by Andre’s robustness in his defensive work rate.
Liverpool should take a punt on Andre, paving the way for the exciting talent to take the well-trodden path from the rich, verdant landscape of Brazil to England, where he could shine on Premier League soil and rise to prominence at Liverpool.
