Liverpool are interested in signing Fluminense midfielder TriAndre ndade after the departures of Fabinho and Jordan Henderson
Liverpool remain on the lookout for a new holding midfielder, with a new name emerging as a potential target following Fabinho’s £40m move to Al-Ittihad.
The Reds, who have seen their options depleted after losing both the Brazilian and Jordan Henderson to Saudi Arabia, have identified Southampton’s Romeo Lavia as a replacement for Fabinho. However, having already seen one bid worth up to £38m rejected by the Saints, an improved package of £41m has also been turned.
With Liverpool’s latest offer still falling short of Southampton’s £50m asking-price, the Reds could be tempted to switch attention elsewhere and have identified Andre Trindade as an alternative target.
This is not the first time Liverpool have been linked with the 22-year-old, who was handed his Brazil debut last summer. Reports in Brazil as far back as May 2022 suggested that Reds scouts had been regulars at Fluminense games as they continued to monitor the young midfielder.
Last June, club president Mario Bittencourt would warn interested clubs off from making a move for Andre, while insisting he would not be sold in the middle of the Brazilian domestic season.
“We are not going to deceive anyone, we have to make sales, but I can say that it will not be Andre,” Bittencourt said. “We are not going to sell Andre in the middle of the year.
We even negotiated his renewal. Angioni, our director of football, is negotiating with his representatives. We have no proposals, no inquiries for any player. But the player who can be sold will not be Andre.”
Meanwhile, UOL reported last month that agent Jorge Mendes, who represents the likes of Darwin Nunez and Diogo Jota and boasts a strong working relationship with Liverpool, has been brought in by businessman and close friend Carlos Leite, who is Andre’s agent, to serve as an intermediary and help earn him a move to the Premier League. They claim also Fluminense would demand between £20m and £25m for his services.
Fulham were reportedly close to signing Andre back in January in a deal worth less than £20m, and, according to the Daily Mail, are reportedly in talks to sign him once more. The player himself would confirm in March that he had rejected both the Cottagers and Nottingham Forest for personal reasons, and had reached an agreement with Fluminense to stay put on this occasion.
“This team that Danilo went to (Forest), Fulham also approached,” Andre told 3 Na Area, quoted by Sport Witness. “But I already had a sort of agreement with the president, largely because of (manager) Fernando Diniz too, it’s worth mentioning, he wanted to keep the base for this year.
“I was living a moment where my wife was in the final stages of her pregnancy, in November, December, my son was due in January, and I chose to stay here too. It was the big reason why it didn’t advance any conversation.
“We can’t avoid a proposal, so it happened, but from the beginning we already knew that the base of last year, we would continue for this year, for us to aim for big things.”
Andre has long since been tipped to become the latest highly-rated Brazilian star tipped to trade his homeland for Europe, with 90min reporting that the likes of Liverpool, Barcelona, Atletico Madrid, Arsenal, Tottenham Hotspur and West Ham United have all been spoken to by the player’s representatives in recent months. However, reports in Brazil continue to suggest if a deal is struck for Andre, he won’t actually move on until January 2024 after the end of Fluminense’s domestic season.
Record, cited by Sport Witness, would report the same regarding a January switch, when suggesting that Sporting Lisbon had withdrawn interest in the Brazil international in anticipation of interest from the likes of Liverpool.
The Reds have recently completed business with Fluminense, having signed goalkeeper Marcelo Pitaluga from the Brazilian club in a deal worth up to £1m in October 2020.
Meanwhile, as they look to sign a replacement for Fabinho, Andre is actually hoping to follow in the footsteps of the departed Liverpool midfielder with both players coming through the Fluminense academy.
A modern-day defensive midfielder, Andre initially started as a striker in his homeland prior to being snapped by Fluminense. He would initially struggle in the youth ranks at Rio, amid managerial changes and having been transformed into a midfielder. However, he would eventually find his feet and was handed a first-team debut in September 2020.
Idolising no-nonsense, combative former Brazil international Felipe Melo, he cemented his place in a three-man midfield, stationed in front of the defence, in 2021 following another managerial change. He would finish the season with 36 appearances as he caught the eye with his ability to win back possession. Then featuring 60 times in 2022, he made his 100th appearance for Fluminense in October 2022, and has now made 144 appearances for them to date.
Going from strength-to-strength last year, he found himself outshining both Joao Gomes and Danilo – who have both since made moves to Wolves and Nottingham Forest and impressed in the Premier League.
Breaking the lines would report how Andre bested the pair in ball recoveries, short passing, long passing, dribbles made and duels won. According to SofaScore, he also had the highest number of interceptions and recoveries with more than 200 to his name whilst also completing 92% of his short passes and 78% of his long passes. AKA, attributes that paint him as the perfect Jurgen Klopp midfielder, while he is comfortable as a sole number six or in a double-pivot midfield.
Standing at 5ft 8, Andre is admittedly of smaller stature. But he is still deceptively strong and rarely gets outmuscled in Brazil as a result. While unable to dominate in the air, it’s a completely different story when the ball is on the ground.
Dynamic and mobile, he excels using his speed to chase after opponents and steal possession off their toes. A proficient tackler, he thrives staying on his feet and coming out on top in 1v1s. Because of his size, he also flourishes when dribbling and carrying the ball forward, passing it short, retaining possession, and dictating the play.
In the past, young players would traditionally leave the South American market for ‘lesser’ European sides before making the move to a Premier League giant. But in recent years, the need for that middle ground has lessened somewhat. While the Reds are yet to directly prosper as a result, it’s a different story for some of their rivals.
Manchester City boast one of the most successful examples of such business, having signed Julian Alvarez from River Plate for an initial £14m in January 2022. In his first season in England, the 23-year-old scored 17 goals as he got his hands on the Premier League, Champions League and FA Cup, as well as the World Cup with Argentina.
Pep Guardiola would return to Argentina a year later to sign 20-year-old midfielder Maximo Perrone from Velez Sarsfield for £8m, while they brought in Kayky from Fluminense for an initial £8.5m in April 2021. Admittedly, such players might not make a direct impact at the Etihad, but the club may loan them out and sell them for a profit.
Douglas Luiz is a good example of this, with City banking £15m from Aston Villa in the summer of 2019, having snapped up the Brazilian for £10.7m from Vasco de Gama two years earlier, only for him to never kick a ball for the club and be sent out on loan after being denied a work permit. Meanwhile, after getting five-and-a-half years out of Gabriel Jesus, having signed him from Palmeiras for £27m in January 2017, City would make roughly £20m profit when selling the forward to Arsenal last summer.
The Gunners have two great examples of such business themselves, with Gabriel Martinelli one of the most-feared forwards in the Premier League despite still being just 21. Arsenal spent just £6m when bringing in the forward from Ituano in July 2019.
Meanwhile, snapping up Emiliano Martinez on a youth contract from Independiente after a successful trial in 2010, they pocketed £20m when selling the goalkeeper to Aston Villa 10 years later.
Elsewhere in the Premier League last season, Carlos Alcaraz and Joao Gomes impressed for struggling Southampton and Wolves respectively. Aged 20 and 22, the former joined for £12m from Racing Club in January, while the Brazilian cost a reported £15m from Flamengo the same month.
If you don’t snap up a talented player directly from South America, you could have to spend big as Chelsea found out for themselves in January. Enzo Fernandez was linked with a move to the Premier League, including Liverpool, last summer, but joined Benfica for roughly £15m. Six months and one World Cup win later, the 22-year-old was off to Stamford Bridge for £106.8m.
Stung by that Premier League record fee, Chelsea have since snapped up Angelo Gabriel from Santos for a reported £13m, and agreed a £17.27m deal with Independiente del Valle for 16-year-old midfielder Kendry Paez to join them in 2025. Elsewhere this summer, Crystal Palace are set to sign Matheus Franca from Flamengo for a reported £26m.
And then there’s Brighton, with Liverpool summer signing Alexis Mac Allister just one of a multitude of players they have plucked from South America.
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