Liverpool are locked in negotiations with Shakhtar Donetsk for the transfer of Alex Teixeira, but we’re still some way off agreeing a fee for the 26-year-old Brazilian, Sky Sports report.
Our initial £24m bid was rejected, and Sky claim that the Ukrainians are after a whopping £35m – which would equal our club record transfer.
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In 2011, we paid that figure for Andy Carroll, which sadly was probably the biggest transfer mistake in the club’s history in terms of money spent and reward reaped.
Time will tell if Liverpool agree to meet Shakhtar’s valuation before the end of the month, but it doesn’t look like they’ll budge – and a separate Sky Sports report explains why:
“There’s a feeling at Shakhtar that they let Douglas Costa go cheap to Bayern Munich on the cheap – they do not want the same regrets with Teixeira,” they claim.
Last summer, German giants signed fellow Brazilian Douglas Costa for around £21m, the Daily Mail claimed, which looking at the 25-year-old’s performances this term – looks an absolute bargain.
Costa’s been arguably the most impressive attacker in the German league, and has matched those performances for Bayern in Europe as well. At the start of January, he was voted ‘best player in the Bundesliga’ (via ESPN), and he’s likely already doubled his market value.
Teixeira is playing far better and racking up far better numbers for Shakhtar than Costa ever did, so it’s understandable the Ukrainians are keen not to get their fingers burnt again.