According to Record, Porto are accelerating their move to sign Liverpool midfielder Marko Grujic on a permanent basis.
It’s claimed that Porto are pressing ahead with their attempts to re-sign Grujic having seen fellow midfielder Matheus Uribe go down with an injury.
Grujic is the top target to fill in for Uribe, but Porto want a deal cheaper than the €17million (£14.5million) Liverpool were initially demanding.
The 25-year-old played 39 games on loan at Porto last season, scoring two goals before heading back to Liverpool this summer.
Grujic was Jurgen Klopp’s first signing at Liverpool, but has only ever played 16 first-team games for the Reds and surely needs to leave for regular first-team football.
Porto’s plan seems to be a cash deal for Grujic, effectively ruling out the possibility of a swap deal involving Brazilian winger Otavio.
A Bola reported last week that Liverpool had offered just shy of £20million plus Grujic to try and sign Otavio, but Porto didn’t bite.
On July 1st, Otavio’s release clause jumped up from €40million to €60million, leaving Porto under even less pressure to sell.
If Liverpool couldn’t get a swap done before the price increase, they surely won’t now, making a swap almost impossible – but Grujic can still end up as a Porto player.
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