Liverpool and Alex Teixeira appear keen on each other. Now if only they could get his current club out of the way.
Liverpool’s stop-and-go pursuit of Shakhtar Donetsk playmaker Teixeira is, according to multiple reports, only being held up by negotiations for a fee.
From the Express to Marca, it is widely thought Liverpool and Teixeira have agreed personal terms, citing Ukrainian sources who in turn are citing Shakhtar staff.
But even if that is so, it appears clear there remains a significant gap between Donetsk’s valuation of the Brazilian and what Liverpool are offering so far.
Read more: Richard Jolly on how Louis van Gaal has reached point of no return with Manchester United fans
The Daily Mail claims a second bid, at £28 million (Dh146m), was rejected by the Ukrainian club, who apparently have a valuation set on Teixeira of £38m. "Shakhtar are notoriously difficult to negotiate with and their valuation is still some distance from Liverpool's two offers," the paper notes
And Sky Sports says Shakhtar "are in no rush to sell their biggest asset as they continue to press for their domestic title" while putting his price at £35m.
The attacking mid has scored 22 goals in 15 league matches for Shakhtar this season. He scored 17 in 22 league matches last season, with another three in the Champions League.
Teixeira, 26, himself has told Brazilian outlet O Globo, "I'm trying to be transferred in this window. We got a very good proposal to the club."
It has been widely thought Chelsea have also pursued Teixeira.
"I get anxious, knowing you have two clubs like Liverpool and Chelsea wanting to hire me," Teixeira told O Globo. "I look forward to an agreement.
“I make it clear I want to play in the Premier League.”
But, he adds, regarding talk of personal terms agreements, “I did not talk to anyone,” yet specifically.
If Teixeira does arrive at Anfield, Jurgen Klopp could make fine use of him on the left or right alongside more centrally-focused compatriot Roberto Firmino.
Liverpool are finding their attacking feet of late, with a 3-3 draw against Arsenal and 5-4 win over Norwich City among their last three league results. That stretch also includes a blank in a 1-0 loss to Manchester United, however.
They sit seventh in the Premier League table, two points behind West Ham United and three behind Man United, but eight off the Champions League places and fourth-sitting Tottenham Hotspur.
The club will target a date at Wembley on Tuesday night when they face Stoke City in the League Cup semi-final.
Atletico Madrid
Atletico Madrid have lodged a formal appeal against their player-registration ban.
The Spanish giants, along with city rivals Real Madrid, have been banned by Fifa from registering new signings for the next two transfer windows after being found to have breached rules on the international transfer and registration of players aged under 18.
Atletico announced their intention to appeal against the sanction two weeks ago and they have now made their position official.
A statement published on the club’s website read: “After studying the documents we received on January 14 we have today notified the Fifa Appeal Committee that we are appealing against the sanction which prohibits us from registering players in the next two transfer windows.
“We consider that we have acted within the law in all cases. We are also requesting a probationary suspension of the sanction pending the outcome of the appeal.”
Atletico were also fined 900,000 Swiss francs (Dh3.3m).
*Press Association
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