Liverpool are claimed to have negotiated personal terms with Celta Vigo midfielder Gabri Veiga, though no deal is in place with his club as of yet.
Veiga is one of a number of young midfielders being considered for a move to Anfield this summer, having emerged as a leading talent in Spain.
The 21-year-old scored 11 goals and laid on four assists in 36 games in LaLiga last season, but did so in a Celta Vigo side that finished 13th.
While Rafa Benitez is expected to take over at the Estadio de Balaidos this summer, Veiga is widely tipped to depart.
Along with the likes of Khephren Thuram, Manu Kone and Ryan Gravenberch, the Spaniard is being weighed up as a potential signing by Liverpool.
Journalist Oscar Mendez, who is based in Vigo and covers Celta for Relevo, has corroborated a claim that the club have already offered a contract to Veiga.
Writing on Twitter, Mendez confirmed information from Italy that, as Napoli watch on, Liverpool have presented terms worth around £80,000 a week.
“But Liverpool have to pay €40 million to Celta faster than Chelsea,” he added, with no deal agreed with Veiga’s club at this stage.
The €40 million (£34.4m) fee is due to a release clause in the youngster’s contract, which, if triggered, would oblige Celta to sell.
That does, in a way, make negotiations simpler, though Liverpool would almost certainly still look to discuss payment options if they were to agree a transfer.
A release clause would typically be required to be paid in a lump sum, but it is often the case that clubs would seek to agree on instalments – as would usually happen with a transfer.
In this instance, there is an element of jeopardy in interest from a number of other clubs, with Chelsea seemingly among those.
That means Liverpool, if they were to firm up their interest in Veiga, would likely need to move fast to push the move through.
It should be stressed that an informal offer on personal terms is no indication that a transfer will happen, as the club are holding similar talks with the agents of other targets.
Football Insider‘s David Lynch has reported preliminary discussions with the representatives of both Thuram and Kone, for example.
That allows a certainty over a player’s intentions were Liverpool to then decide they want to pursue a deal and add any of Veiga, Thuram, Kone or another midfielder to their signing of Alexis Mac Allister.
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