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Not Mahrez, Not Lemar – Liverpool want to sign €60million winger from Portugal to replace Coutinho

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By Thomas Hein

Liverpool have been linked with a number of attack-minded players ever since Jurgen Klopp took over and another name now being linked with a move to Anfield, once again, is Gelson Martins from Sporting Lisbon.

For those not in the know, the Portuguese was linked with a move to our side in the summer but we finally got hold of our man, Mohamed Salah. The Egyptian has been a roaring success for us with his incredible scoring rate but according to a report from the Record, we have been monitoring Martins for a while now and could be going in for him.

The report claims that we had sent out scouts to watch the player and he has been in decent enough form this season. The 22-year-old has scored 7 times and has 3 assists to his name as well.

Those numbers might not be that great compared to what the likes of Philippe Coutinho or Salah have scored or contributed but the Portuguese would add another dimension to our attack. However, signing him would be a major problem for our side.

Getting Martins in the winter window would only be possible if we are willing to spend huge and the report further claims that the club want to increase the player’s release clause from €60million to €100million, which is a ludicrous fee.

A Player We Could Buy But His Price Would Be A Major Hurdle

Martins does have a lot of quality in him but he has to be consistent and that is something that Jurgen Klopp or another manager would have to look into if they are to sign him.

Going by the reports, spending close to €100million on Martins would not be the smartest decision in terms of transfers being done and with Coutinho having been sold for a huge amount as well, Sporting would likely ask for a huge amount to let their star in the making go.

The other issue would be as to where we could fit Martins, given that Salah and Sadio Mane are our first choice wingers. That would only leave Martins on the bench unless Klopp continues his rotation policy. Whatever does happen, it will be interesting to see just who we target after we let go of Coutinho but one thing is a surety, we will have to splurge the cash to get a quality replacement in.