Liverpool are reportedly set to face stiff competition from local rivals Everton for the signing of Brazilian defender Gleison Bremer in January.
According to the Liverpool Echo, Premier League champions Liverpool are lining up a swoop for Torino centre-back Gleison Bremer in the January transfer window. However, the Reds will have to face competition from fellow Merseysiders Everton for the Brazilian’s signing.
The 23-year-old Bremer came through the ranks at Brazilian club Desportivo and had stints at Sao Paulo and Atletico Mineiro before signing for Torino in the summer of 2018. While he did not see a lot of game-time in his debut campaign in Italy, the defender has become a mainstay since the 2019/20 campaign.
Bremer featured 35 times across all competitions for Torino last season, scoring five goals and setting up three more. The Brazilian has started in all but one of the Turin-based outfit’s Serie A matches in the current campaign, chipping in with a goal.
A towering presence at the heart of the defence, Bremer has now emerged as a potential target for reigning Premier League champions Liverpool. The Reds are in a crisis situation at the moment, owing to a spate of injuries to their defensive personnel since the start of the new season.
Virgil van Dijk was the first casualty, with the Dutchman unlikely to feature again for the rest of the campaign. Fabinho, who was moved into the makeshift centre-back role by Jurgen Klopp, also fell to an injury, while Joe Gomez has become the latest member to get sidelined, with the Englishman also staring at a long spell out of action.
This has left the Reds to bare bones in the central defensive department with the injury-prone Joel Matip as the seniormost option along with youngsters Nathaniel Phillips, Rhys Williams and Sepp van den Berg. This necessitates the addition of a new centre-back, with the Reds being linked with a number of players including Milan Skriniar.
And Bremer is the latest addition to the list of the potential targets for Klopp & co. as the winter window looms. However, they will have to contend with competition from neighbours and bitter rivals Everton in order to sign the 23-year-old from Torino.
The Toffees’ need for a new centre-back isn’t as pressing as Liverpool’s, with the club having brought in Ben Godfrey from Norwich City in the summer. But manager Carlo Ancelotti is looking to build a strong, youth-centric defensive unit around Godfrey and Mason Holgate, and sees Bremer as an ideal fit.
The left-footed defender is comfortable playing out from the back, something that both Liverpool and Everton will want from their centre-back targets. At the same time, Bremer has displayed good reading of the game and aggression in his defending, in his burgeoning career in Italy, making him an attractive proposition for both Merseyside outfits.
Bremer still has a little under three years left on his contract with Torino, meaning that the Italians could demand a hefty fee for his services in January. It will be interesting to see if either of Liverpool or Everton act on their interest in the Brazilian.