Ian Doyle has said that it’s now ‘very unlikely’ that Liverpool will sign one player with whom they were strongly linked for much of 2023.
One of the most prominent names on the Anfield rumour mill in the second half of last year was Andre Trindade, with the Reds even reported to have made an offer of €30m (£25.8m) to Fluminense, which was duly rejected by the Brazilian club (ESPN).
However, the Merseyside links cooled towards the winter, with Fulham instead appearing to be the frontrunners to bring him to the Premier League (Evening Standard).
Speaking on the Blood Red Podcast, Doyle claimed that the 22-year-old would be a Liverpool player by now if the Reds were truly intent on signing him.
The journalist said of the prospect of Andre coming to Anfield: “It looks very unlikely, doesn’t it? If they were going to bring him in, they’d have brought him in at the start of January or even before it. They had a little look in the summer and ended up getting [Wataru] Endo.
“What is interesting for me is that the other club linked with him are Fulham, and I’m not saying anything bad about Fulham, but they’re not quite in the same league as Liverpool.”
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When Andre helped Fluminense to their maiden Copa Libertadores title in early November, many Liverpool fans were paying close attention in the belief that it’d be his last big game for the club before coming to Anfield in January.
However, with last summer’s midfield recruits such as Dominik Szoboszlai and Endo bedding in commendably, and amid a spate of defensive injuries, the Reds’ transfer focus appears to have shifted away from the midfield.
If LFC are to pull off any business in the January window – something which has been downplayed by both Fabrizio Romano and James Pearce – it seems likelier that a full-back, centre-back or right winger would be prioritised, given the sparsity of squad depth in those positions.
Some Liverpool fans may be disappointed that Doyle has effectively sounded the death knell on any prospect of Andre being signed after months of speculation, but as the journalist said, you’d imagine that a deal would’ve been done by now if the Reds were to land the 22-year-old.
The Brazilian could certainly have been a valuable addition to Jurgen Klopp’s playing pick, but that ship now appears to have sailed, and the Anfield hierarchy would be best advised to address other parts of the squad where the manager is currently looking rather light.