James Pearce shares what ‘people I’ve spoken to at Liverpool’ told him about Reds-linked 22y/o
James Pearce has shared what he’s heard from Liverpool insiders regarding the possibility of a January move for Andre Trindade.
The Fluminense midfielder has been linked with the Reds for several months, but he’s now believed to have an agreement in principle regarding a proposed £20m switch to Fulham (talkSPORT).
Speaking on The Athletic Football Podcast this week, the journalist outlined that LFC are unlikely to pursue the 22-year-old again next month.
Pearce said: “Liverpool have been repeatedly linked with Andre from Fluminense, but again the people I’ve spoken to at Liverpool have said they’re unlikely to go back in for him.
“He was looked at as a possible alternative last summer when they were struggling to do a deal with Southampton for Romeo Lavia. In the end they moved on from Andre.
“I think when you look at [Wataru] Endo growing in confidence in that number 6 role, [Alexis] Mac Allister has obviously played there a lot, I don’t think they see that as a real necessity.”
Given Pearce’s reliability when it comes to Liverpool transfer rumours, and claims earlier this week that midfield signings in January are improbable (Daily Mail), we can probably now rule out Andre as a viable mid-season target for the Reds.
That area of the pitch was vastly overhauled during the summer, so if Jurgen Klopp and Jorg Schmadtke are to add to the squad next month, other positions are more likely to be targeted, particularly centre-back following the anterior cruciate ligament injury to Joel Matip.
Furthermore, Pearce’s comments correspond with those of his colleague David Ornstein, who reported that LFC have discontinued their pursuit of the 22-year-old (The Athletic).
With Endo and Mac Allister already in situ, and Thiago Alcantara and Stefan Bajcetic both to come back from injury, Liverpool have several options for the number 6 role, even if Don Hutchison has urged them to sign a specialist player in that position in January.
If they are to do so, we can safely assume at this stage that Andre won’t be the man to come in.
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