Liverpool would be one of the favourites to lift the Premier League title this season if they bought Fulham’s Joao Palhinha, according to Owen Hargreaves.

The pundit says that Jurgen Klopp’s side are missing a holding midfield player and, if they manage to secure Palhinha’s signature, it would make them genuine contenders for top spot, along with Manchester City, Arsenal and Tottenham:

“They’re missing one thing, and that’s a defensive midfielder. I think if Palhinha plays for Liverpool, they can win the league, he’s that good.”

Alexis Mac Allister has been playing as the no.6 since the start of the campaign and, while he has shown that he can play the role, he is not the perfect fit so Hargreaves is right in terms of there being a need to buy a specialist for that position.

Palhinha is unlikely to be on Liverpool’s radar

After bidding £110m for Moises Caicedo, the Reds are clearly in the market for a defensive midfielder, but there are a couple of reasons why Palhinha may not be targeted.

Firstly, he is 28 years of age and many feel that Liverpool won’t pay a sizeable fee for a player who does not have any sell-on value.

Secondly, Bayern Munich were very close to signing Palhinha for £55m back in the summer and there is an expectation that the Bundesliga champions will revive their move for the Portuguese international when the transfer window reopens in January.

Liverpool are looking at options in South America

From the looks of things, the Merseyside club are very keen on bringing in Andre from Fluminense. The 22-year-old was the subject of interest from the Reds in the summer but his club were not willing to sell at the time.

It is believed that the situation will change in January following the end of Fluminense’s season.

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