Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool are hoping to follow in Manchester United’s footsteps by signing one of Sporting CP’s best players.
The Red Devils landed Bruno Fernandes back in January 2020 after agreeing a €65 million fee with the Portuguese club.
Now, Liverpool are looking to sign their own Fernandes in the form of central defender Goncalo Inacio.
Although Inacio is not a forward-thinking player like the Man Utd star, he is presently Sporting’s most valuable player according to FootballTransfers’ in-house Player Valuation Model.
Inacio’s Estimated Transfer Value (ETV) is currently €29m – the highest of any Sporting player. Ivan Fresneda, previously wanted by Arsenal, is the second-most valuable Sporting CP star (€20.4m ETV), while Pedro Goncalves is the third (€20m).
Chelsea and Arsenal target Viktor Gyokeres has the fourth-highest ETV of any player in the Sporting squad at €17.9m.
Furthermore, Inacio is currently Sporting’s second-best player according to data analytics experts SciSports. He has a SciSkill level of 85.3, which can only be bettered by Goncalves (88.7).
Goncalo Inacio to join Liverpool?
According to Portuguese news outlet Jorge das Transferências, via TEAMTalk, Liverpool have submitted a €30m proposal for Inacio – which is in line with his ETV.
However, Inacio has a €60m release clause in his current contract at Sporting – after signing a new deal in August – and the Portuguese club believe he is worth that figure.
Furthermore, his centre-back partner Ousmane Diomande is also being tracked by several top European clubs and Sporting won’t want to lose both players within a short space of time without being rewarded financially.
FootballTransfers understand that Chelsea are set to make Diomande a priority signing in the summer transfer window. Thiago Silva’s current contract at Stamford Bridge is due to expire this summer and he has been linked with a move back to Brazil.
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