Brazilian club confirms contact from Liverpool over midfield talent
Liverpool approached Fluminense regarding a summer transfer for midfielder Andre Trindade but were knocked back until January, the Brazilian club's president has claimed.
The Reds have seen substantial turnover in midfield since the end of last season, with Jordan Henderson, Fabinho, James Milner, Naby Keita and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain all moving on. Alexis Mac Allister, Dominik Szoboszlai, Wataru Endo and Ryan Gravenberch have arrived for a combined £145m, potentially rising to £165m if Mac Allister's add-ons are triggered.
Fulham were initially keen on the 21-year-old in January and retained that interest into the summer when, as 90min explained at the time, Liverpool, Barcelona, Atletico Madrid, Arsenal, Tottenham and West Ham were contacted by representatives from Andre’s camp.
Now, Fluminense chief Mario Bittencourt has claimed Liverpool made direct contact with him over Andre, referring to the "chief executive", which is currently Billy Hogan.
But Fluminense, who are mid-season and competing in the latter stages of the Copa Libertadores as they seek to win a first ever South American championship, pushed back and made it clear they are not willing to let the player leave until the end of the calendar year.
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At that point, it appears Fluminense are willing to cash in.
"There is an agreement between us, with the player and representative, that he would stay until the end of the year and they comply fully and with the utmost tranquillity,” Bittencourt told ESPN in Brazil. "What they have done is the work as a representative of the athlete: all the polling that arrives they communicate to Fluminense.
"In the case of Liverpool, I go even further. Liverpool’s chief executive contacted me directly. I replied to him, 'My friend, I don't sell players now and I don't deliver now.' If you want to buy now to take in January, we can start talking, or if you want to wait until December, we’ll talk in December."
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