Liverpool have put in an enquiry for Talles Magno.
The Brazilian forward has a release clause of £45 million, but sporting director Michael Edwards could land him for just £18 million – said Freddie Keighley in the Mirror.
Talles Magno plays for Vasco da Gama and is considered to be one of the top prospects in the league, according to the report. Last November, Vasco ensured the 18-year-old was tied to a new deal that included his large release clause, but they are currently under financial pressure and could be forced to sell.
The Mirror cited reports from Yahoo Esportes, which said Liverpool have made contact with the club to see if they were open to selling for as little as £18 million.
Magno is under contract until 2022 and is also attracting interest from Ligue 1 duo Lille and Paris Saint-Germain, while Sevilla, Bayer Leverkusen and Krasnodar are keeping tabs on the young attacker.
He’s only played 17 games, scoring twice and assisting once, but there are recent examples of young Brazilian talents moving to Europe when they hit 18 and doing well.
Reinier only played 15 times for Flamengo before his move to Real Madrid while Rodrygo and Vinícius Júnior made 49 appearances for Santos and Flamengo respectively. All of them secured their big transfers to Madrid when they were 18.
Talles Magno wouldn’t be plotting a unique path if he was signed by Liverpool, and his arrival could be smoothed over by countrymen Alisson Becker, Fabinho and Roberto Firmino.
Edwards seems to be feeling risk-averse this window, and the players we’ve been linked with so far are from a much smaller pond than Magno.
He started negotiations for Jamal Lewis at £10 million, despite Norwich City wanting double, while we’ve seen little movement on a replacement for Dejan Lovren.
Diego Carlos has been linked, but he’s been tipped to move for major money and that probably puts Liverpool out of the picture.
Will we move for Magno? It would be an exciting statement of intent for the future, but as always, that price doesn’t spark confidence.