Liverpool’s hopes of landing Lucas Beraldo in January have taken a painful hit, with Paris Saint-Germain reportedly closing in on the Brazilian starlet. Jurgen Klopp will be keen to snap up reinforcements at centre-back after Joel Matip’s season-ending cruciate ligament tear.
The Cameroonian limped off during Liverpool’s 4-3 win over Fulham earlier this month. And although Klopp will have been overjoyed at the two late goals which sealed the thrilling result, his glee was soon ended by bad news from the treatment room.
Virgil van Dijk, Ibahima Konate and Joe Gomez are the Reds’ only remaining senior centre-back options. A defensive injury crisis could therefore be catastrophic, with youngster Jarell Quansah already being called upon to deputise in cup competitions.
Beraldo is one of the transfer options rumoured to be on Liverpool’s radar ahead of the January window. The Sun claim that senior figures from Anfield jetted to Brazil in November for talks with Sao Paulo over a potential deal.
However, transfer insider Fabrizio Romano claims that PSG have forged ahead in the race for the highly-sought-after prospect. A total package worth £21.5million is believed to have met Sao Paulo’s demands, and negotiations are progressing rapidly.
Adding insult to injury for Liverpool is Beraldo reportedly ‘saying yes’ to PSG as a destination for the next step in his career. The 20-year-old became a mainstay in his side’s back line last season as they finished 11th in the Brazilian Serie A.
The recruitment team at Anfield are believed to be keeping a close eye on the Portuguese league, where Sporting star Goncalo Inacio and Porto’s David Carmo are both of interest.
Wolfsburg defender Maxence Lacroix and Bournemouth man Lloyd Kelly have also been linked with moves to Merseyside as Klopp looks to offset the absence of Matip, whose experience would have been vital in the title run-in.
