‘Liverpool are no exception’ – Klopp linked to £77m defender as Romano confirms Gravenberch meeting
Liverpool have been linked to Benfica defender Antonio Silva with the Reds one of the clubs “keeping an eye” on the Portugal international.
The 19-year-old, who already has three caps for Portugal, only made his first-team breakthrough this season with Silva making 39 appearances in his first campaign.
And his form for club and country has not gone unnoticed elsewhere in Europe with reports earlier this week claiming that Benfica are ‘preparing for a huge battle for his signature at the end of the season’.
Silva has a £77m release clause in his current contract and Liverpool could be tempted to make an offer as they look to find a consistent centre-back pairing.
And former Sporting Lisbon and Sevilla defender Daniel Carrico insists that Liverpool are one of the big clubs with serious interest in the Portuguese centre-back.
Carrico told SIC Notícias’ show Jogo Aberto: “There are few words to praise Antonio Silva more. He’s a young man who doesn’t look like a young man. He plays with the maturity of a senior and a centre-back with several years of experience. He has a very strong personality. He demonstrates this on the pitch.
“He’s a leader. Together with Otamendi, he has made a very strong duo. He shows that he’s prepared for other flights. It’s normal for a young central defender to have to acquire more experience, but he has shown, also at the national team, that he is prepared.
“It’s normal to have to make mistakes to learn and evolve, but Antonio Silva plays alongside Otamendi, who has been a great support for this stability. Antonio Silva skipped stages, because in his first season he already made it to the national team. The big clubs, they’re keeping an eye on Antonio Silva, certainly. Liverpool are no exception.”
The Liverpool midfield is the area of the team which Klopp and his recruitment team are most keen to improve with Ryan Gravenberch believed to be a serious target.
Gravenberch hasn’t played much for Bayern Munich this season and the midfielder has publicly come out and requested more game time ahead of next season.
And transfer expert Fabrizio Romano has revealed that the Liverpool target will have a “meeting soon” with Bayern Munich in an attempt to clarify his future with the Reds “especially” interested.
Romano told Caught Offside: “There is a lot of interest in Ryan Gravenberch – he is not playing for Bayern and he has confirmed he is not satisfied at all, he wants more minutes, and he says that next season it has to change.
“There will be a meeting soon between Bayern and Gravenberch, but from the club’s perspective, they want to keep him, and have no intention to negotiate for him to leave.
“There has been interest from the Premier League since January – Liverpool, Man United and Arsenal were all informed on his situation but it was not possible to proceed because of Bayern’s stance.
“Liverpool especially remain interested and had a direct conversation with his agent a few days ago, so they are waiting to see if the situation could change.”
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