Whilst Andre’s next destination in club football is far from being a foregone conclusion, reasonable suspicions may be formed.
The Brazilian international is likely to be the focus of a transfer tug-of-war between Liverpool and Arsenal after the two outfits dispatched representatives to observe the Copa Libertadores final at the Maracana.
The 22-year-old admitted he’s yet to make a final decision on his future ahead of the Brazil top-flight season drawing to a close in December, though revealed his admiration of Jurgen Klopp to AS.
“In January, I had already talked to (Fluminense coach Fernando) Diniz, we practically knew we would keep the squad at least until the end of 2023, regardless of what happened, regardless of whether we advanced or not in the Libertadores. So, thank God, we are in the final,” the midfielder’s comments were relayed by the Echo.
Not a done deal yet
Again, we must emphasise that a deal between the Reds, the player and Fluminense has yet to be agreed upon.
As one of the standout stars in the Brazilian Serie A, you could forgive supporters for being particularly eager to see Andre make the switch to L4.
Whilst his tackling (65th percentile), interceptions (59th), blocks (49th) and clearances (40th) stats perhaps leave something to be desired, his potential contributions to the possession side of our game could be invaluable.
The holding midfielder currently registers in the 98th and 99th percentile for passes attempted and completed respectively, according to stats compiled by FBref.
To put things into context, our current first-choice No.6 in Alexis Mac Allister is only superior when it comes to blocks (59th percentile), but otherwise suffers in the aforementioned defensive metrics whilst struggling to compete for passes attempted and completed.
Even accounting for a downgrade in numbers in line with the quality present in the Premier League, Andre has the makings of a top-class addition to the squad.
Looking forward to Andre playing for Liverpool in January 2024