Porto willing to lower asking price for Liverpool target Otavio
By Tom Gott
Porto are keen to negotiate with Liverpool over the sale of winger Otavio and are prepared to lower their asking price to help get a deal done.
Liverpool were recently said to be in 'advanced talks' over a deal to sign the 26-year-old and they were expected to push ahead with a deal last month, given his £34m release clause jumped up to over £50m on July 1.
With the calendar flipping over, it would appear as though Liverpool had missed out on the chance to sign the Brazilian for the best price, but A Bola state that Porto are not expected to demand that entire sum be paid.
Porto are in a rush to make a sizeable sale this summer as they need money to appease UEFA's Financial Fair Play rules. They had hoped that Wolves would trigger their option to sign Vitinha permanently, but such a move never transpired and now Porto find themselves in a financial hole.
They are now likely to accept a bid of closer to his initial release clause to help Otavio seal a move to Liverpool, who are thought to be huge fans of the 26-year-old.
Otavio's agent, Israel Oliveira, recently confirmed that the player would be allowed to leave Porto for the right price.
“If it’s good for Porto and for Otavio,” he said (via The Mirror) when asked about the chances of a deal happening.
Liverpool have identified Otavio as a potential candidate to add depth to their attack, where a lack of trustworthy options has seen Jurgen Klopp grow over-reliant on Mohamed Salah, Roberto Firmino and Sadio Mane.
Divock Origi, Xherdan Shaqiri and Takumi Minamino have all been tipped to leave Anfield this summer after failing to convince Klopp of their qualities, and selling all three would likely raise enough money to pursue Otavio.
The Reds have already landed centre-back Ibrahima Konate from RB Leipzig and hope to make a new forward their second signing of the summer, while a replacement for Gini Wijnaldum remains another possibility.