Even Shakhtar Donetsk coach Mircea Lucescu wants Alex Teixeira to complete his January move to Liverpool.
Liverpool want the player and have had two bids rejected so far, the second close to £28m, with the Independent today reiterating that the Ukrainians are after something near the £38m mark.
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The player himself has publicly pined for a move, liking multiple Instagram photos of himself in a Liverpool shirt.
And now, the Brazilian’s boss has admitted he won’t stand in Teixeira’s way – but confirmed that the player is worthy of Shakhtar’s hefty valuation.
“He’s worth €50m,” Lucescu told FourFourTwo. “He’s incredible, very fast, very good technique. I compare him with other players of the same age who changed [the fortunes of] a club, Di Maria for example at Paris Saint Germain.
“Teixeira can be at the same level, better even. He doesn’t get injured, and every year he gets better and better.”
“I don’t want to keep a player against his will. Teixeira dreams to play in a bigger league.”
“Only Shakhtar’s president can decide whether Alex Teixeira can leave or not.”
Lucescu is used to his best players departing, and has no reason to exaggerate the abilities of Teixeira this time when he’s watched the likes of Fernandinho, Willian, Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Douglas Costa leave over the years.
Of course, the a cynic would suggest the comments are a tool to encourage more interest, hopefully of a club willing to spend €50m, but the statistics back Lucescu up from a footballing perspective.
This season, Teixeira’s scored 22 league goals in 15 games.
With Shakhtar seemingly not willing to budge, time will tell if Liverpool take the plunge and meet the valuation before the transfer window closes.