Liverpool have placed Porto midfielder Alan Varela on their “target list” for the summer transfer window, according to O Jogo.

The Portuguese newspaper says the Argentinian Under 20 international “fits the profile” for the type of player the Reds are looking for, with the club seeking to partner Alexis Mac Allister with a No.6.

Varela has been linked with the Reds and Manchester City in recent months but the interest in the 22-year-old from the Merseysiders has now been confirmed.

O Jogo claim that Liverpool sent a scout specifically to watch Varela during Porto’s 2-1 home defeat to Vitoria Guimaraes on Sunday evening.

It must be said that it wasn’t the most impressive performance from the midfielder, who was replaced just 10 minutes into the second half by manager Sergio Conceicao with Porto chasing an equaliser.

Liverpool were not the only team to have observers at the match

It is believed that Manchester United, Chelsea, Bayern Munich and Atletico Madrid also had scouts in attendance for Porto’s game at the weekend.

However, it is not known whether all of these clubs were there to watch Varela or if they had their eyes on other players.

Varela won’t be available on the cheap

Porto only signed the player from Boca Juniors at the start of the season for €11m and, to ward off potential interest, a €70m (£60m) release clause was included in his contract.

It’s thought to be unlikely that Varela’s club will sell him for a figure below his current buyout fee. Whether that would put off Liverpool from making an offer, we shall have to wait and see.

The Reds already have Wataru Endo and Stefan Bajcetic who can play as holding midfielders so the recruitment department will have to make a decision on whether Varela’s ability warrants the sizeable outlay.