Exclusive: Brazilian journalist says it will take two things for Liverpool to sign Joao Gomes in January ✌️
Joao Gomes has already expressed a willingness to join Liverpool at some stage in future
Liverpool have made some truly fine additions to the squad in the January period in recent history, ranging from former Inter star Philippe Coutinho to the electric Luis Diaz from FC Porto.
There have been a few blips here and there - perhaps most notably within the Jürgen Klopp era when the club panic signed Ben Davies and agreed a loan for Ozan Kabak in the 2020/21 season - of course, though that shouldn’t hold the Reds back from venturing into the market midway through the campaign once more.
One player that could tempt a recruitment team now led by Michael Edwards’ protégé, Julian Ward, into action may be Brazilian Joao Gomes.
Already boasting a rather impressive array of Brazilian internationals in the form of Alisson Becker, Fabinho and Bobby Firmino, the area has been plenty generous to Liverpool.
But how difficult will it be to expand the side’s South American contingent halfway through the campaign?
“It wouldn’t be easy, Joao is highly valued, as I said on another occasion, Vidal came and he remained a starter, it wouldn’t be cheap, Flamengo is a well-organized club, financially structured, but I think the athlete’s will, joining a good proposal, the club negotiates, yes!” Julio Miguel Neto exclusively told Empire of the Kop.
Let’s take a closer look at those two points:
‘The athlete’s will’ - Last time we checked, Gomes is said to more than fancy the prospect of trading the Campeonato Brasileiro Série A for the English top-flight with Liverpool specifically identified as an ideal destination. “Liverpool are a team I’d play for. I have the greatest desire to play,” the midfielder told ESPN Brasil.
‘A good proposal’ - What exactly ‘a good proposal’ looks like remains unclear. Transfermarkt currently values the player at £9m - that figure feels like it falls far short of his true valuation and certainly what Flamengo will charge for his services in January. Looking at transfers of similar age group in recent times, the Reds can probably expect to pay between £18m (Bruno Guimarães) - £34.56m (Lucas Paquetá).
Liverpool paid an initial £37.5m for Luis Diaz in the last January window (albeit, after being encouraged to do so by Tottenham’s interest), so we know the club is prepared to spend if it identifies the right target.
So far, we’ve at the very least got one box firmly ticked - unless Gomes enjoys a change of mind in terms of potential destinations - and should be able to cope with whatever demands Flamengo make for their star midfielder, judging by prior exits from the Brazilian top-flight.
A mid-season move could very well inflate the price, of course, though it’s difficult, at this point in time, to see an asking price being set that will be beyond our reach.
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