Liverpool Van Dijk succession plan takes shape as Reds battle Real Madrid for Brazilian prodigy

Liverpool seem to enjoy dipping into the South American market and exploring the pool of talent that is available to them. 

The Reds' South American contingent is strong with the likes of Luis Diaz, Darwin Nunez and Alex Mac Allister displaying their footballing prowess week in week out. 

Recently, Liverpool have been linked with Brazilian wonderkid Vitor Reis, the 18-year-old centre-back who plays in the Brasileiro Serie A for Palmeiras. Liverpool are battling it out with Arsenal for the signature of the teenager and the hype for this phenomenon is clear to see. 

Read more: Slot desperate for Liverpool star to sign new deal

Having already started nine times this season, he has played an average of 83 minutes per game while retaining an average pass accuracy of 92%. He has also been voted by the CIES Football Index as one of the top three performing U20 centre-backs in the world. The boy has shown promise and a big move to a European club can not be too far away. 

Scouts also from Real Madrid, Barcelona and Benfica have been present at his games to take a closer look at his performances and monitor his progress, according to CaughtOffside. Reis may be tempted to join Spanish giants Real, following in the footsteps of former teammate Endrick who seems to be settling in and enjoying his time in Madrid. 

But for Liverpool, Reis could line up as Virgil van Dijk’s long term replacement. With the Dutch stalwart turning 33 years old in July and only one year left on his contract, Reis could benefit from Van Dijk’s vast amount of knowledge, gain fantastic experience in the first team before being unleashed into the Premier League. 

Liverpool's bad luck in Brazil

However, Liverpool’s luck when trying to secure players from the top Brazilian league recently seems to have fallen short and they need to tread carefully.

An example of these deals falling through would be the transfer saga involving defensive midfielder Andre who the Reds tried to sign from Fluminense in the summer of 2023 and January 2024. Multiple rumours floated around this transfer but it seemed clear that Andre would join Liverpool with personal terms reportedly being agreed. However, Fluminense wanted to keep Andre for the rest of the season as they believed he was key in them winning the Copa Libertadores. 

Liverpool were desperate for a defensive midfielder, and ended the interest in Andre with the signing of Wataru Endo from Stuttgart. Andre however did make his move to the Premier League signing for Wolves for a reported £21m. He made his debut last week coming on as a substitute in their 1-1 draw with Nottingham Forest. 

A player Liverpool were so eager to sign slipped away and they may live to rue that decision. But lessons have been learnt. Reis’ signature will be competitively battled but Liverpool must make sure they make the right decisions so the player feels the move to the Reds will be perfect for the progression of his career.

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