Liverpool are in a transfer battle with Manchester United for 20-year-old Brazilian international Éder Militão.
Brazilian publication UOL has written a report in collaboration with sources in Portugal that claims the Reds are interested in Militão.
The 20-year-old was voted the best defender in the country for four months in a row, and the ease in which he controlled Bas Dost during Porto’s recent clash against Sporting Lisbon showcased that ability.
Should Militão decide to move, he’ll also be able to chose La Liga as a destination. The report mentioned that Real Madrid have firm interest in the former São Paulo lad, who has just 14 Liga NOS appearances under his belt.
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His versatility is a massive bonus, and the starlet is able to play at right-back as well as in the middle of defence. Militão is held in high regard at the club, but it’s likely that he’ll be allowed to leave in the summer – said the article.
Local legend Pepe returned to Porto from Real in the summer, but allowed his young teammate to keep his preferred number 3 shirt. The veteran defender took up 33 instead, and that proves how highly the 20-year-old is regarded around the club.
UOL wrote that Militão wants to get plenty of first team games in order to break into the Brazil side on a more regular basis. Madrid currently have a settled defence, and there would be more opportunities at Liverpool.
Jurgen Klopp may have Dejan Lovren, Joe Gomez and Joel Matip to chose from as partners for Virgil van Dijk, but Lovren and Matip could easily be moved on to make way for the Brazilian starlet if the Reds chose to make a deal.
That would give Klopp one world-class central defender, with two exciting prospects fighting it out for the second position. Liverpool would then look extremely well placed in the near and long term.
With a value of £31.50 million, it would take a large amount of money to persuade Porto to sell – but we’ve seen that the Reds aren’t afraid of going large for the right player.