Liverpool step aside as Fulham launch £35m bid for star Klopp no longer wants; personal terms agreed
A midfielder Liverpool unsuccessfully bid for last summer has agreed personal terms with Fulham, and Marco Silva’s side have thundered in with a club-record £35m bid, according to a top source.
The Reds embarked on a full-scale midfield rebuild last summer that saw Arthur Melo (loan expiry), James Milner, Naby Keita, Jordan Henderson, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Fabinho all depart.
Taking their places were Alexis Mac Allister, Dominik Szoboslai, Wataru Endo and Ryan Gravenberch.
However, had Fluminense not been in the knockout rounds of the Copa Libertadores at the time, Brazilian midfielder Andre may well have been among the incomings too.
ESPN confirmed Liverpool bid €30m (approx. £25.7m) for the 22-year-old in the summer window. However, Fluminense were dead set against selling while dreaming of lifting their first ever Copa Libertadores.
That tournament is the South American equivalent of the UEFA Champions League and Fluminense’s hardline stance quickly proved wise. Indeed, with Andre in the engine room, Fluminense defeated Argentine giant Boca Juniors in the final on November 4.
There had been talk of Liverpool potentially reigning their interest and bidding again for Andre in January.
However, Liverpool have shown no signs of reviving their move and Andre now looks on course to join Fulham instead.
Fulham to break transfer record for Andre
Back in late-December, talkSPORT claimed Fulham had struck an agreement in principle to sign Andre.
Fast forward to present day and according to trusted reporter Ben Jacobs, Fulham have tabled a club-record £35m bid for the midfielder.
The offer is made up of £30m plus a further £5m in add-ons. Fulham’s most expensive ever buy remains the roughly £25m paid to sign Jean Michael Seri from Nice back in 2018. If Fluminense say yes, Andre’s transfer would blow Seri’s record away.
Regarding personal terms, Jacobs stated an agreement is already in place between Fulham and Andre.
Fulham chief, Alistair Mackintosh, was in attendance for the Copa Libertadores final back in November. It’s there where the seeds were sewn for Andre’s switch to Fulham.
