Following claims that Liverpool could “intensify” their pursuit of Porto defensive midfielder Alan Varela, senior sources at the club have now responded.
After speculation a year ago, while Varela was still at Boca Juniors, it was claimed in April that “official talks” had taken place over a transfer.
Those reports come from the midfielder’s native Argentina, while further claims came this week from Spain, via South American journalist Eduardo Burgos.
Liverpool are intensifying their contacts with Alan Varel, which is one of the targets for the summer.
His clause is 70 million and Boca has % of the sale of the player. It is expected that they will soon open negotiations with Porto for his transfer.
He will go to the Olympic Games in Paris with Argentina. pic.twitter.com/39fJNCslqD
— Eduardo Burgos (@edu17burgos) 31 May 2024
Burgos wrote further Twitter that Liverpool are ready to “intensify contact” for Varela, adding that they are “expected to open negotiations with Porto soon for his transfer”.
The natural number 6 is reported to have been watched by the club’s scouts on several occasions and is available for around £60m due to a release clause in his contract.
But by Liverpool EchoPaul Gorst, those within the hierarchy at Anfield are baffled by the constant claims of interest in Varela.
“Senior figures have dismissed genuine interest and believe the 22-year-old’s agent is the source of the reports from South America,” writes Gorst.
While on paper Varela may have filled an obvious void in Arne Slott’s squad, it may come as no surprise that Liverpool quickly retracted these reports.
He is far from the first such midfielder to be called up by the Reds in recent transfer windows, with Manuel Ugarte, Joao Palhinha and Manu Kone also on that list.
There is still no indication of how Liverpool will approach recruitment as the new set-up takes shape, although sporting director Richard Hughes, rather than Slott, is leading the plans.
That could cast the net wider than under the previous regime, with more recent arrivals dictated by Jurgen Klopp and his own coaching staff.
Portugal have been seen as a regular source of targets including Darwin Nunez and Luis Diaz, but perhaps Gorst’s update on Varela is proof that will now change.
