Portuguese papers have put the Benfica striker Raul Jimenez in the spotlight today, as the player is apparently attracting big interest from Chinese clubs.
The interesting thing is how Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool have been dragged to the story, considering that A Bola put in their headline the player is between China and England.
Liverpool interest doesn’t make a great deal of sense, considering they have Daniel Sturridge and Divock Origi, with Danny Ings out injured.
The rumour is that Tianjin Quanjian would be negotiating for the player, with Benfica president Luis Filipe Vieira and the agent Jorge Mendes having travelled to Asia for talks.
Vieira would be demanding at least €40m for the deal, although some other papers such as O Jogo claim he wants close to €50m.
Even though it’s not really Jimenez’ desire to go to China, these figures would push Benfica to sell and convince the player to go. The personal terms offered by the club would do this work too.
What have Liverpool got to do with this? They’ve been linked to the striker a few times in the last month, although real talks for the transfer were never really reported.
This is clearly not a reason to presume that Jimenez is between China and England. Liverpool are mentioned in both O Jogo and A Bola, but none of them seem to have a good reason why.
With nine goals scored this season and a €60m release clause, Jimenez is really the kind of player who we’re used to see linked to big English clubs. But this time, things seem to be forced a bit.
