Alex Teixeira makes Shakhtar plea
Liverpool target Alex Teixeira has pleaded with his club Shakhtar Donetsk to deliver a dream Anfield move.
The Brazilian spoke passionately about his desire to leave Ukraine in an attempt to push his international hopes, and he has made no secret that he would love a switch to Liverpool.
So far though, the Reds have made just one bid for the midfielder of around £24m, and have now placed the ball firmly in Shakhtar’s court, suggesting there will be no further discussion unless the asking price of almost £40m is slashed.
The Ukraine club though, remain defiant that Teixeira will go nowhere unless that valuation is met, with their manager Mircea Lucescu saying: “He’s worth 50m euros (£38m).”
Lucescu suggested he doesn’t want to “keep a player against his desire”, but with the Brazil star still with two years remaining on his contract, the club can play hardball over a fee, which left Teixiera pleading on Wednesday: “It would be an honour to defend the Liverpool shirt.
“Yes, it’s correct I want to go there, it’s a huge club and so many great players have passed through there.
“But there has only been one offer of 32m Euros and Shakhtar rejected it. It is frustrating but the manager and club president decided against it so now I am just waiting, trying to be patient.
“I know my agent is still attempting everything possible to help me get to Liverpool. “The team received one official offer. It was rejected but I don’t know why because it was a great offer.”
The video interview – with NBC 6 in Florida, where Shakhtar are holding a winter training camp – has gone viral after being posted on Liverpool fans’ website Anfield HQ.
And in it, Teixeira admits he would love to play alongside Philippe Countinho once more, after playing with the midfielder since they were kids.
“I have played with Coutinho since we were 10 year old. It would be a lot of fun to play with him again,” he said.
“The way I play is always looking to score, and I could definitely add an attacking threat.
“For me the Premier League is the best in the world. I believe in myself and feel that it would be the best move for my career – I think I’ve reached an age at 26 where I’m really looking to break into the Brazil team.
“But now is up to the club president and I can only hope. I don’t know what else to say.”
Liverpool will not be held to ransom over the player even though manager Jurgen Klopp is keen to bring him to Anfield, and has asked for the deal to be pursued.
They believe their offer of £24m is generous for a 26-year-old who has never played at senior level for his country, and has spent the last five years in the Ukrainian league.
The feeling at Anfield is they must wait for Shakhtar to drop their valuation, and if that means risking waiting until the summer, then they are prepared to do so.
Source: Daily Mirror
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