Liverpool transfer news: Romano reveals why Anfield move may come too soon for ‘very good’ Brazilian midfielder

Liverpool have been keeping tabs on Flamengo midfielder Joao Gomes, but transfer insider Fabrizio Romano has revealed that no official approaches have been made for the player.

Reds boss Jurgen Klopp is looking to freshen up his aging engine room, with Jordan Henderson, James Milner and Thiago all the wrong side of 30, while Fabinho will be 29 in October.

That has led to links with a number of midfielders, with reports that Liverpool bid £80.4m to try and sign Federico Valverde from Real Madrid on deadline day.

The Merseysiders ended up bringing in Arthur Melo from Juventus on loan instead. But the Brazilian has made just one substitute appearance so far, in the 4-1 Champions League loss to Napoli.

But with Arthur’s £34million permanent option likely to prove too steep, that will leave Klopp looking elsewhere for fresh talent.

And Romano claims that 21-year-old Gomes is very much on Liverpool’s radar.

So far, however, their interest has not gone any further than that. Indeed, Romano believes that the youngster may not quite be ready for a move to a big club like Liverpool just yet.

While the Italian transfer expert rates Gomes highly, he does have doubts over the move.

Romano told CaughtOffside: “Liverpool have monitored Gomes with their scouts as many other top European clubs did. At the moment there’s nothing else to this story, no official bid or negotiation.

“I think he’s a very good player. But he needs some steps before being ready for Liverpool level.”

Klopp in Liverpool rebuild mode

While midfield have proved one of Liverpool’s weaknesses in a tough start to the new season, Klopp has not been helped by injuries to the likes of Henderson, Naby Keita and Curtis Jones.

Time does appear to be catching up on Milner, who is arguably better in a full-back role rather then being asked to go box-to-box at the age of 36.

Defensively the Reds have also struggled at times, with even the normally reliable Virgil van Dijk also struggling.

Big-money summer signing Darwin Nunez has also struggled to adapt to the Premier League so far.

Nunez was brought in to replace Sadio Mane but has so far scored twice in six appearances. Admittedly, he did not do himself any favours after picking up a three-match against Crystal Palace.

But Klopp is clearly in the process of rebuilding an aging Liverpool team. And that is likely to take several transfer windows to do.

At this stage, it remains to be seen with Gomes will be part of the Reds’ revolution. Although, it’s at least clear that he is firmly on the club’s radar.

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