Daily Mail reports that Premier League team Liverpool and Saudi Pro League side Al-Ittihad are locked in talks with each other over the fee to be paid to complete the transfer of Brazilian midfielder Fabinho.
Fabinho has spent the last five years at the base of Liverpool’s midfield. He sealed the move to Anfield after an impressive showing with AS Monaco in the 2017/18 French Ligue 1 and UEFA Champions League season.
He was part of that amazing Principality team that had Manchester City midfielder Bernardo Silva and Kylian Mbappe among others.
At Liverpool, he is one of Jurgen Klopp’s most trusted generals who worked with the team to bring the Red back to its glory days. It is time for a transition at Anfield and the 29-year-old, having achieved quite a lot at the club to the point of being considered one of the world’s best defensive midfielders, is set to leave.
Al-Ittihad, who have previously acquired N’Golo Kante and Karim Benzema, submitted a £40 million pound bid to the 19-time English top-flight champions after agreeing terms with the player. Liverpool, however, seem not to be satisfied or fully convinced with the bid.
Reports now indicate that both clubs are locked in talks over the fee.
The Reds have begun their pre-season preparation and Fabinho has all but said goodbye to his teammates as he was left behind to finalise the details of his move to Saudi Arabia. The further delays could see him miss out on valuable pre-season preparation with both clubs, who have begun getting ready for the 2023/24 football season.
The report also suggests that Liverpool are stalling as they are not willing to let Fabinho go with captain Jordan Henderson also being linked with a move to Saudi Arabia to join Al-Ettifaq which is managed by Liverpool legend Steven Gerrard.
The Reds have already lost Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Naby Keita and James Milner but have brought in Dominik Szoboszlai and Alexis Mac Allister as replacements.
They are currently linked to Southampton’s Romeo Lavia, Borussia Monchengladbach’s Manu Koné and OGC Nice’s Khéphren Thuram. Manchester City man Kalvin Phillips has also been linked to Anfield after only one season at the Etihad.
Losing both Fabinho and Henderson will mean a total overhaul of their midfield and it is understood that Liverpool are not willing to transition that fast.
The Reds, meanwhile, will travel to Germany as their first stop in their pre-season tour. From there, they will travel to Singapore where they will face off against Bayern Munich and Leicester City before travelling to Spain to play at Estadi Olímpic Lluís Companys, Barcelona’s new temporary home ground pending the completion of the renovation works at the Spotify Camp Nou.
That will be their final pre-season game before they return to England and prepare to face Chelsea in their opening Premier League fixture for the 2023/24 season.
