Liverpool have made Matheus Nunes their “priority” signing as they “prepare to open negotiations” for the Sporting Lisbon midfielder.
The Brazil-born Portugal international was in fine form for Sporting last season, contributing three goals and two assists in 33 La Liga appearances as they finished runners-up to Porto in the Primeira Liga.
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A report earlier this month revealed that Nunes would “leave” Sporting this summer and that his “destiny is revealed” as Chelsea.
Chelsea were thought to be ‘preparing’ an offer initially worth €45m with another €5m in variables which could take the deal to €50m (£42.8m) , but said the offer has not materialized.
And now Correio da Manha (via Sport Witness ) claim Liverpool have made Nunes their No.1 target and are now “preparing to open negotiations” with Sporting for the midfielder.
The report claims that Jurgen Klopp has “identified new needs during pre-season”, meaning they will “progress” for Nunes.
Manchester City and Wolves have also been linked with the 23-year-old and it is believed a ‘run’ could ‘accelerate’ a move.
But Klopp’s recent comments suggest Liverpool will not make a move for Nunes, certainly not this summer, as they are “counting on” the options they currently have available.
Klopp said: “As I said, if nobody wants to leave, and no player has come to me with that request yet and I don’t really expect it, to be honest, there’s no need for a new midfielder.
“We can’t just add midfielders. We also respect the contracts with our boys, meaning whenever we sign them, they get our full support: in training, between sessions, during games and between games.
“This is the situation we have; You can really count on our midfielders. And, for me, Harvey Elliott is also a new signing, after how he started last season. He’s very young, came back bright, then had a bit of a slump, that’s completely normal after being out for so long. So very excited to see it.
“If you pass, the quality of the players we have is very, very high. People make a mistake. They underestimate the chances that a player who didn’t play his best season last year can play his best season this year.
“It’s like football fans – I’m not sure all of them, but some – don’t give people a chance to improve. It’s like, “He didn’t play well last year, he can’t score goals, he can’t do this, so get him out of the house.”
“Thank God, I am not like that; I judge the potential as much as last season. Actually the last season isn’t really interesting, it’s gone. When a player didn’t perform at his highest level, it’s at least 50 percent my fault. So I have to improve, I have to say the right things, I have to say better things, I have to help him in a better way.
“Because it’s not about the potential of these players, this is incredibly high. It’s about bringing it on the pitch and why should we stop after a year where we almost won four trophies? I know that we didn’t, but we were as close as we could get. That’s the reason. If these guys want to stay, they’re going to stay and then we’ll work on that.”