Liverpool told they must pay €60m for Portugal international Klopp wants; Man Utd also interested

Liverpool would reportedly have to pay €60m to sign Sporting Lisbon defender Goncalo Inacio in January, who is also a target for Manchester United. 

Jurgen Klopp focused on rebuilding his midfield in the summer transfer window, but it’s no secret that the Reds manager is keen to bolster his defence, too.

A recent report by TEAMtalk claimed that Klopp no longer trusts Joe Gomez, whose recent form has been inconsistent, and now Liverpool are eyeing Inacio as a replacement for him.

Man Utd have also registered an interest in the talented 22-year-old. Erik ten Hag is looking to offload Harry Maguire either in January or at the end of the season, so Inacio could be signed in his place.

The Premier League rivals will both be looking to finish in a top-four spot this season, and Liverpool are currently five points better off than Man Utd.

Inacio is considered to be one of the best young defenders in Europe, so he could be a game-changing addition for either team.

With that in mind, we could see both Liverpool and Man Utd battle for his signature this winter.

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Liverpool, Man Utd must pay €60m to sign Inacio in January

Despite the interest Inacio, Sporting are determined to do everything they can to keep him until the end of the season at least.

According to Portuguese publication A Bola, Sporting would only consider selling the centre-back in the summer window.

The report claims that as a result, there is ‘only one hypothesis’ if Liverpool, or indeed Man Utd, want to sign Inacio this winter, and that’s to pay the €60m (approx. £52.3m) release clause in his contract.

If the Reds want to pay less, then Sporting will be ‘open to talks’ at the end of the season, even though they would try to negotiate a fee close to that price.

The Portuguese giants are said to be ‘in no hurry’ to sell Inacio, especially because they know the Euros could end up attracting more ‘admirers’, and consequently push his price up.

Inacio broke into the Sporting first-team in 2020 and has become one of their most important players. He has made 132 appearances in all competitions so far, scoring 11 goals in the process.

The defender has plenty of experience at the highest level, with 21 appearances in the Champions League and Europa League to date. He has also earned himself four caps for the Portugal national team so far, so there is certainly no doubting his quality.

It will be interesting to see if Liverpool or Man Utd bite the bullet and meet his €60m release clause in January.

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