Saturday’s Serie A clash between Torino and Inter Milan felt a bit like an audition for Gleison Bremer.
If he is to join Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool side in the summer, the Brazilian centre-back needed to prove he could hold his own against one of the most fearsome forwards in European football (Mirror).
90 minutes later, despite a narrow 2-1 defeat at the hands of the runaway Serie A leaders, Bremer could look himself in the mirror and know he passed the test with flying colours.
Lukaku may have opened the scoring from the penalty spot, his 25th of a stunning season, but the Belgian struggled to exert his usual impact in open play in Turin.
That was largely down to the brilliance of Bremer, the 23-year-old thriving where so many of his contemporaries have failed against Inter’s often-irrepressible number nine.
“Bremer played an incredible match against Inter,” Torino coach Davide Nicola told Sky Sports, via FCInterNews, after what felt like a headline performance from one of Europe’s most upwardly mobile young defenders.
According to ToroNews, Fulham, West Ham United and Everton joined Liverpool in the race for Bremer’s £10 million-rated signature a few weeks ago.
Perhaps the biggest compliment that can be paid to Torino’s 23-year-old is Lukaku will hope his nemesis does indeed depart in the summer.
The Inter talisman won’t want to come up against Bremer again any time soon.
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