Liverpool continued their very promising start to the season on Sunday with a comfortable 3-0 victory over Nottingham Forest.
Alexis Mac Allister was praised for having one of his best games in a red shirt so far. The Argentinian is adapting to the rigours of playing in a Jürgen Klopp midfield in a slightly deeper role than he was accustomed to at Brighton.
One of the players linked with joining Mac Allister in the summer transfer window was Fluminense’s André Trindade. The 22-year-old is widely expected to leave his homeland in January after hopefully leading them to victory in the Copa Libertadores. Arsenal has been suggested as a possible destination, alongside the continuing rumours over a move to Merseyside.
On the latest episode of our Journo Insight show, we asked experienced LFC reporter Neil Jones for an update on the André story.
Andre Is The Perfect Thiago Replacement | The Deep Dive
Neil said:
“I would be surprised, personally, unless circumstances change with injuries. They bought four midfielders. You have to remember they bought Endō and Gravenberch since these stories were made.
“I think you can see that they’ve committed to Alexis Mac Allister in this number six role. They’ve got a lot of number eights. I don’t see the desperate need to do it, unless they are convinced that he’s absolute gold – top-level.
“I think it will all depend on whether Liverpool actually thought he was the real, real one. My suggestion would be that if they did think that, they’d have gone all out to get him in the summer.
“He’s a very defensive-minded player – he excels in that side of the game. He’s snappy, he’s got bite, he wins the ball, he’s very unfussy with the ball as well.
[On the likelihood of signing]
“Out of ten? I’m going less than half–four. It could change in terms of injuries. We know how quickly it can change with injuries with Liverpool.
“If you’d have asked me in the middle of August or start of August, I’d have said seven or eight, because it was what Liverpool really, really needed.
“I’ve been wrong before, but I’m leaning towards Liverpool being kind of okay with what they’ve got. Maybe next summer, they’d look at someone potentially in that position, but better.”
Pep Lijnders on Diaz’s Situation & Injury Updates | Bournemouth v Liverpool | LFC Press Conference
Redmen Reacts
A cool reception for André from Neil. He raises all of the important variables. It seems clear that Jürgen Klopp has committed to the idea of a less ‘traditional’ number six in the form of Alexis Mac Allister. Liverpool have performed well this season with him in role, despite some questions being raised over his suitability for the job. With Wataru Endō growing in influence and the likes of Thiago and Stefan Bajčetić still to return, the midfield situation is much less urgent than it was at the time of the failed pursuits for Roméo Lavia and Moisés Caicedo.
The one glimmer of hope for those craving a new Brazilian holder at the club is the possibility that Trindade may be what Neil describes as ‘absolutely gold’. If the club believe they have found a player capable of delivering the level of the likes of Fabinho at his best, it would make financial sense for them to avoid the premium that would be applied by a European club such as Porto and sign him now. Jürgen Klopp has been bitten by overconfidence in the fitness of his midfielders before. With Thiago set to leave in June, a late Christmas present similar to the signing of Cody Gakpo could be the perfect start to the new year.
USE CODE ‘JOURNO’ TO GET HALF PRICE CAPTAIN SUBSCRIPTION FOR TWO MONTHS
