Fabrizio Romano says two Liverpool-linked midfielders are ‘ready for the next step’
Fabrizio Romano has said that two midfielders who’ve been linked with Liverpool are now ‘ready for the next step’ in their respective careers.The Reds continue to admire Florentino Luis of Benfica (Graeme Bailey) and have also been strongly interested in Fluminense’s Andre Trindade, for whom they’re believed to be in ‘pole position’ (Pete O’Rourke).In his […]
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Fabrizio Romano has said that two midfielders who’ve been linked with Liverpool are now ‘ready for the next step’ in their respective careers.
The Reds continue to admire Florentino Luis of Benfica (Graeme Bailey) and have also been strongly interested in Fluminense’s Andre Trindade, for whom they’re believed to be in ‘pole position’ (Pete O’Rourke).
In his latest Daily Briefing for CaughtOffside, the Italian addressed where things stand with both players regarding the possibility of a move to Anfield in 2024.
Romano said: “Firstly, we’re seeing Florentino Luis’ name coming up a lot. Some fans have been asking me about links with Liverpool, and also with Manchester United, but I’m afraid I’m not aware of anything concrete at this stage. We had those links also in the summer but nothing concrete happened.
“The only club trying to sign Luis in July was Nottingham Forest but Benfica rejected every approach. Still, I personally believe he’s absolutely ready to make the next step in his career, he’s a very good player.
“Another name coming up with Liverpool is talented young Fluminense midfielder Andre. I think he could have a chance to move in 2024, but we will see what happens in terms of negotiation with Fluminense – it won’t be easy as they are always strong in negotiations. But Andre is absolutely ready for the next step – he’s very talented, and has a great mentality.”
Both players would be fantastic additions at the base of Liverpool’s midfield if they were to sign for Jurgen Klopp’s side.
Florentino has proven to be a powerfully combative and technically brilliant cog in the Benfica machine, as illustrated by stats from FBref profiling the last 12 months of his career.
The 24-year-old ranks among the top 1% of midfielders in Europe for tackles (3.94) and interceptions (2.64) per game, with his pass completion rate of 89.1% placing him in the 96th percentile for that metric among his positional peers.
Meanwhile, Andre has been one of the starts of Fluminense’s run to the Copa Libertadores final, recording their second-best passing average (93%) while winning far more tackles (24) and making more blocks (20) than anyone in their squad during that campaign, as per FBref.
Of those two players, the latter seems the more likely acquisition for Liverpool given that they appear to be further along the tracks for him than Florentino.
If the Reds were to get either of them through the door next year, it’d complete their seismic midfield rebuild since the end of last season and, once and for all, give them that dominant presence in the number 6 position.
EOTK Insider with Neil Jones: Andre transfer latest, Liverpool & Bayern’s tug-of-war over Max Eberl, what could have been with Manu Kone and much more!The post Fabrizio Romano says two Liverpool-linked midfielders are ‘ready for the next step’ appeared first on The Empire of The Kop.