The Portuguese media refuse to give up on rumours linking Liverpool with a move for Brazilian star Talisca.
The 22-year-old wants to leave Benfica this summer, and came close to signing for Chinese side Shanghai SIPG, before they signed Hulk.
Yesterday, we covered reports from Portuguese newspaper Record claiming Liverpool are in negotiations to sign Talisca, despite concerns about him getting a work permit.
Another Portuguese newspaper, A Bola, reported that Benfica’s president, Luis Filipe Vieira, has been negotiating the player’s transfer in London without, mentioning the name of the club.
Today, O Jogo report Talisca is waiting for a positive response for his work permit, and could be moving to Liverpool imminently. The player just expects a ‘Yes’ for his work permit, before Liverpool open their doors to him.
O Jogo say Liverpool are one of the clubs that Jorge Mendes has been negotiating with, and the player could cost €25m.
It’s really difficult to say if Liverpool are really interested in signing Talisca, as they have a lot of attacking options and don’t even play in any European competition next season, to justify a bigger selection.
For a while it’s looked more a case of Benfica trying to sell Talisca, than a club trying to buy him. Perhaps Mendes is trying to be as persuasive as he can with the Premier League club.
It’s unlikely Talisca could get work permit approval without first having a club ready to sign him. The new work permit rules, and the specifically the appeals process, depends on things like transfer fee paid and wages the player has secured.
Therefore, it’s not a case of getting the work permit and touting it around like a mortgage approval.
