Liverpool are reportedly following the progress of Pedro Goncalves quite keenly and are considering a possible summer swoop for the 22-year-old.
According to a report by Portuguese outlet Record, as relayed by Sport Witness, Pedro Goncalves is being closely monitored by Liverpool over a possible move in the summer transfer window. The 22-year-old Portuguese forward has a €60 million release clause, with Sporting Lisbon unwilling to sell him.
Pedro Goncalves, better known as Pote, spent his youth footballing days at several clubs before finally graduating from the Wolverhampton Wanderers academy in 2019. The youngster, though, managed just a solitary outing for Wolves before joining Famalicao, where he finally flourished as a first-team player.
Last term, the 22-year-old played a leading role for the then-newly promoted outfit, who stunned everyone by finishing 6th in the Primeira Liga. Pote’s progress was soon noticed and last summer, he ended up joining Sporting Lisbon, where already has an excellent record of 14 goals and 2 assists in 15 league outings. Once again, his exploits have attracted several clubs, with Liverpool one of those chasing him.
Liverpool appear to be set to begin a transitional period, having uncharacteristically blown hot and cold so far in the 2020/21 season. With his squad looking in need of some refreshing touch, Jurgen Klopp could perhaps, do well to address some of the issues in attack, especially with the front three not performing to potential this term.
Adding quality competition in the form of Pote could potentially help Klopp push the first-choice attackers to their limits, as suggested by the impact of Diogo Jota. Recruiting the 22-year-old Portuguese star would also enable Liverpool to offload Xherdan Shaqiri and Divock Origi, both of whom face uncertain futures at Anfield.
Having said that, Sporting Lisbon are not too keen to do business with Liverpool as they want to build their team around the youngster and enter the UEFA Champions League next season. Nevertheless, the Premier League champions are said to be ‘very attentive’ to his progress and have made informal enquiries over a possible move.
It has also been claimed that Sporting will only allow Pote to leave if Liverpool trigger his €60 million release clause. However, that also brings the issue of personal terms and it will then be interesting to see if the Reds can agree terms with the player to secure his services. For now, a move in the summer transfer window appears to be likely.