Liverpool are reportedly keeping tabs on the Sporting winger Gelson Martins as a possible replacement for Philippe Coutinho at the club.
It’s Portuguese newspaper Record who brings a big story about it today, saying the Reds have been following the 22-year-old very closely lately.
Liverpool had a scout at the Estádio da Luz on Wednesday, when Benfica and Sporting tied 1-1 in the Lisbon derby, with Gelson scoring the Lions’ goal.
According to Record, his good performance has increased the expectations of a bid from the Reds, although no contact has been made with the club scouts. Liverpool aren’t one of the clubs who scout Portuguese football the most, so them watching the game could suggest a specific interest in someone.
Gelson is the type of talented youngster who has been linked to almost every major club in Europe, but what keeps stopping him from being sold is his price.
Record recalls that Liverpool paid €40m to sign Mohamed Salah from Roma last summer, when they were already interested in Gelson, but he would be a more expensive signing as Sporting were demanding €50m at the time.
Now the expectation is for his price to only increase. There’s the possibility the release clause will go from €60m to €100m in the next few months, and that’s when the player will be really hard to get.
