It won’t have been lost on Liverpool fans that Romeo Lavia didn’t feature for Southampton in their win over Sheffield Wednesday on Friday night, and two more Anfield-linked players are also notable absentees from their respective teams’ matches this weekend.
As per Liverpool Echo, Andre Trindade missed Fluminense’s 2-1 win over Palmeiras on Saturday amid speculation linking him with the Reds, but that absence was enforced through suspension, with his club set to welcome him back for their Copa Libertadores clash against Argentinos Juniors in midweek.
Then, on Sunday lunchtime, Sky Sports reported that Moises Caicedo will be omitted from the Brighton squad for this afternoon’s pre-season friendly against Rayo Vallecano ‘to focus on the Premier League opener against Luton on Saturday amid speculation over his future’.
When players at the epicentre of transfer rumours aren’t included in their teams’ matches, it can naturally fuel conjecture as to the likelihood of a move materialising, but we’d avoid any temptation to read too much into Andre and Caicedo not playing for their respective sides this weekend.
The Brazilian midfielder would’ve been unavailable yesterday irrespective of any talk over his future, while Sky Sports‘ report added that ‘Brighton are not expecting anyone to match what they want’ for the Ecuadorian and ‘expect him to be at the club when the window closes’ on 1 September.
Of the two Liverpool-linked players, the Fluminense man certainly seems the more attainable, with a reported price tag of just £17m (Pedro Sepulveda) – a far cry from the £100m that the Seagulls are thought to be seeking for their South American superstar (The Athletic).
Also, whereas Chelsea have made their interest in Caicedo very clear by submitting an unsuccessful £80m offer for him (The Athletic), thus providing stern competition, Sepulveda claimed that Sporting Lisbon will no longer pursue Andre due to his valuation.
Plenty can still change between now and the transfer deadline, but the Brazilian looks well within reach if the Reds can turn his club’s head with a sufficiently tempting offer. Let’s see what happens over the coming days.
#Ep83 of The Empire of the Kop Podcast: EOTK Insider with Neil Jones