Liverpool ‘will try’ to sign £30m target ‘in January’ as they hatch plan to land Man Utd-linked defender

Lewis Oldham 03 Sep 2023 2:22 PM

Liverpool target Kossounou — Odilon Kossounou in action for Bayer Leverkusen.

According to reports, Liverpool ‘will try’ to sign Andre from Brazilian outfit Fluminense in January amid competition from rivals Manchester United.

Liverpool took their summer spend to around £15om with the deadline day arrival of Ryan Gravenberch from Bayern Munich. He followed Alexis Mac Allister, Dominik Szoboszlai and Wataru Endo in moving to the Premier League giants.

The Reds were linked with Gravenberch throughout the summer transfer window and they have also monitored Fluminense midfielder Andre.

The defensive midfielder has earned plaudits for his performances for Fluminense and he made his senior debut for Brazil earlier this year.

Liverpool reportedly had a bid rejected for Andre earlier this summer after the 22-year-old rejected Man Utd and ‘agreed terms’ with Jurgen Klopp’s side. In the end. a move did not go through as Fluminense did not want to let their prized asset leave before the current Copa Libertadores season finished in November.

The Sun are now reporting that ‘Liverpool will try to land Brazilian midfielder Andre in the January transfer window’. The report adds.

‘Fluminense star Andre was on their radar in the summer but the club would not go beyond £30million for him.

‘And with Andre’s side chasing domestic honours in Brazil, they were not willing to trade.

‘He fits the Liverpool profile perfectly and they are prepared to hold on until the time and price are right.’

The report also claims that Liverpool’s ‘transfer team are also working on a centre-half for next summer’.

They add: ‘Bayer Leverkusen’s Odilon Kossounou is on the watch-list after he failed to land a move to West Ham. The Ivory Coast international, 22, would jump at a move to Merseyside.’

Man Utd were linked with Kossounou earlier this summer but Harry Maguire’s failed transfer to West Ham reduced their need to sign a new centre-back.

Bayer Leverkusen paid around €23m to sign Kossounou from Club Brugge in 2021. He’s impressed for the Bundesliga outfit and at international level for the Ivory Coast in recent seasons.

Speaking last month, Jamie Carragher admitted that his “big worry” about Liverpool is how they are shaping up “defensively”.

“We know Trent is never going to be in the team for his defensive ability. Van Dijk is not quite the same, we’ve accepted that. So I just think they’re going to be asked questions more and without the protection they need, they need someone to steady the ship in there and win one-versus-one battles, rather than get forward,” Carragher told Sky Sports.

“The big worry for me with Liverpool is defensively. The last action sums it up as they had a corner and they nearly conceded a goal at the other end.

“Liverpool need a holding midfielder. They need a real defender, an out-and-out defender who can play right across that back four.”

Liverpool Andre