21-year-old Liverpool / Manchester United Dream defender signs new contract, attracting interest
Published 17th Aug 2023, 13:00 BST
The Liverpool-linked defender Gonaclo
Inácio is set to sign a new deal at Sporting,
amid interest from top clubs around Europe.
Inácio, 21, has built a strong reputation
during his time in Portugal and has been
linked with a move to a whole host of clubs
in Europe, including Liverpool.
The Reds had initially lined up a left-footed
centre-back as a key target this summer, not
only because the likes of Joel Matip and Joe
Gomez are unreliable injury-wise, but also
due to their new adapted formation and
tactics, which would benefit from having a
defender with Inácio’s make-up and attributes.
However, the Portuguese international is set
to sign a new five-year-deal, according to
Fabrizio Romano, which see his release
clause rise from their current fee of £38.5m.
Inácio is set to sign new deal at Sporting
after agreement was reached last night and
his new release clause will be set at €60m
(£51m). The likes of Newcastle United, PSG
and Manchester United are reportedly all
keen on acquiring his services as well.
Portuguese outlet Diario de Noticias, had
reported that Liverpool were ready to make
their move, despite Sporting’s wish to tie
him down to a new deal at the club.
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Their current focus seems to be on find a
solution to their midfield crisis, with reports
last night claiming that Wataru Endo is close
to completing a move to Anfield.
Plus, Crystal Palace’s Cheick Doucoure is
also being linked with a move as they look
to sure up their defensive midfield role.
Matip’s current deal expires next summer
and it is likely the club will allow him to run
down his deal like they did with Roberto
Firmino, James Milner, Alex Oxlade-
Chamberlain and Naby Keita – which means
a defender could feasibly come in despite
already having four centre-backs in their squad.
Who is Wataru Endo? Age, career statistics &
latest on £16m Liverpool move
In terms of Inacio, he was a key figure for
Sporting last season playing 52 times and
scoring four times.
He’s emerged as one of the best young ball-
playing centre-backs in Europe and would
certainly be well-suited to playing under
Klopp, especially in this new system,
especially since Andy Robertson has
struggled to adapt to those new tactics.
Ranking in the 97th-99th percentiles for
progressive carries, passes attempted and
progressive passes puts him within the elite
for playing out from the back and strong,
agile frame combined with his passing
ability makes him an exciting defensive
prospect. He looks like a brilliant signing
waiting to happen, but midfield remains the focus for now.
READ MORE
Liverpool have been informed about the
conditions of a potential deal for Sofyan
Amrabat, a versatile and intelligent midfielder.
Liverpool faced setbacks in their pursuit of
other players, including failed bids for
Romeo Lavia and Moises Caicedo.
Amrabat has had an impressive year at
Fiorentina and showcased his skills in the
Qatar World Cup, drawing praise for his drive and leadership.
Footballfancast video of the day
Liverpool are now “informed” on what it
would take to complete a deal for a £32,000-
a-week star lauded for possessing
“footballing intelligence” as well as “drive”
and “leadership”, per transfers expert Fabrizio Romano.
Liverpool news – What’s the latest?
The last couple of weeks have been nothing
short of a disaster for the Reds regarding the transfer market.
The Merseysiders kicked things off by
making three failed bids for Southampton’s
Romeo Lavia as the south coast side refused
to budge on their £50m valuation of their star.
With that deal going nowhere, the six-time
European champions did something
unprecedented for the club.
They made a record-breaking bid of £111m
for Brighton & Hove Albion’s Moises
Caicedo, but despite the sides agreeing to on
the fee, the player himself snubbed the club,
opting to join Chelsea instead.
Things only got worse when the
Merseysiders returned with a £60m offer for
Lavia, only for the exact same thing to
happen, with the young Belgian choosing
Stamford Bridge over Anfield.
However, there has been some good news
recently as, according to Sky Sports, the club
have made a shock bid for Japanese
international and Stuttgart star Wataru
Endo for around £16m, which could rise to
£21m with bonuses.
And if that wasn’t good enough, the club
have also been linked to long-term
Manchester United target Sofyan Amrabat,
with transfers expert Fabrizio Romano
reporting that Liverpool have “called” the
player’s camp to learn more about a potential deal.
sofyan-amrabat-fiorentina-serie-a
He explained the situation on his YouTube channel, saying:
“Let’s follow the situation of Sofyan Amrabat
because we had rumours in the Dutch
media of Amrabat on his way to Liverpool.
From what I’m told, this is not the case today.
“What happened is that yesterday Liverpool,
in the night, called on Amrabat’s side to be
informed on the conditions of the deal so
Liverpool know how much it takes to sign
Sofyan Amrabat on the club side and on the player side.
“Now it’s on Liverpool, they didn’t submit a
bid for to Fiorentina, and they didn’t submit
a bid to the player so let’s see if Liverpool
will move for Amrabat or if they will go for another player.”
How good is Sofyan Amrabat?
It has been an unbelievable 12 months for
the 26-year-old, both domestically and
internationally. Domestically he was an
instrumental part of the Il Viola, making it
all the way to the Europa Conference League
final in June, and despite coming out on the
wrong side of the result, put in an excellent
performance for his team.
Despite losing 2-1, The National’s Liam
Wheeler gave the Moroccan international
an 8/10 for his battling display in the middle
of the park, describing him as an ‘important
cog in a well-oiled Fiorentina midfield that
refused to relinquish control’.
However, for as impressive as he was in the
Serie A side’s run to the final, the main
reason that the wider footballing world has
such a high opinion of the all-action
midfielder is thanks to his heroic efforts in
the Qatar World Cup that culminated in
Morocco making it to the semi-finals where
they lost a tightly fought game against France.
Amrabat-Fiorentina-Man-Utd-Scholes-Premier-League-transfer
The £32,000-a-week ace was immense for
the Atlas Lions, especially in defeat, with
former England international Stuart Pearce
waxing lyrical over the 6 foot 1 “monster”, saying:
His drive, his energy, his leadership,
everything that he stood for today, the
French didn’t have in their ranks.”
Described as “versatile” and possessing
genuine “footballing intelligence” by football
talent scout Jacek Kulig, if the Reds can
somehow hijack his proposed move to
United and bring him to Anfield, it wouldn’t
solve all of their problems, but it would
certainly go along way.
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