Porto are “rubbing their hands together” at the prospect of selling Liverpool target Alan Varela for a sizeable profit this summer, according to Record.

The Portuguese tabloid mentions that the Reds, Paris Saint-Germain and Borussia Dortmund are among the teams keeping tabs on the Argentinian midfielder, who only moved to Portugal from Boca Juniors for €8m last year.

If Varela impresses against Arsenal in the Champions League on Tuesday evening, it is believed that Porto could raise a lot of money from his potential sale at the end of the season.

The 22-year-old has a €70m (£60m) release clause in his contract and, with his value on the rise having stood out during his first season in European football, there is hope that a club could match the buyout fee.

Why are Liverpool interested in Varela?

Some in the English media have already labelled him the “next Javier Mascherano”, as the Porto star has similar characteristics to the former Liverpool player.

Varela is a defensive midfielder by trade, breaking up play and doing the dirty work so more creative players can do the damage in the final third of the pitch.

Wataru Endo has been doing a similar job for Liverpool and he has been performing very well too. However, the Japanese international is already the wrong side of 30 and Varela would be a much younger alternative.

Other Premier League teams have been credited with an interest

Manchester City, Manchester United, Aston Villa and West Ham have also reportedly considered Varela as a transfer target, but Porto’s valuation may price some out of a deal.

Liverpool are closing in on reappointing Michael Edwards and, if the former sporting director is back in position soon, we may find out shortly whether Varela is a priority target for the summer transfer window.