Liverpool target £17m Brazilian

Liverpool are reportedly considering a January raid on Chelsea midfield target Fernando Reges.

The 24-year-old FC Porto star has emerged as one of a number of players in the position who is of interested to the club, according to The Daily Mail, with Celtic's Beram Kayal another player on the club's transfer radar.

With a long-term injury to Brazilian international Lucas Leiva and skipper Steven Gerrard not yet back to match fitness at Liverpool, the Anfield outfit are said to be in the market for a player in the 'anchor role'.

The same paper reported earlier in the month that manager Kenny Dalglish was considering a £17 million move for the player, with Liverpool scouts sent to watch the player in a 0-0 Champions League draw against Zenit St Petersburg.

Seydou Keita and Yann M'Vila have also been speculatively linked with a move to Merseyside by various sources, and it remains to be seen if the Liverpool boss will indeed turn to the transfer market, with funds expected to be made available by owners FSG.

As for Chelsea, their interest in Fernando stems back to the summer following Andre Villas-Boas' arrival from the Estádio do Dragão.

The ex-Porto boss was linked with a number of former players from the Primeira Liga champions, with Hulk, Alvaro Pereira, Radamel Falcao and Joao Moutinho also tipped to follow their manager to Stamford Bridge at the time.

Whilst none of the aforementioned four made the move to Chelsea, Fernando was another to be linked and one of the few that are still being linked with the switch to west London.

Competition is already fierce at the club in the position though, with John Obi-Mikel, Michael Essien and Oriol Romeu fighting for one place in a midfield three at the club. Whether Fernando can add to that mix remains a decision for the Chelsea boss to make in the coming days.

Source: GiveMeFootball

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