Vickery: Lack of interest in Andre has been baffling

A South American football expert has been surprised by the lack of concrete bids for a midfielder who has been likened to a former Liverpool star.

Andre Trindade has been a name which has been circulating for a number of months with a number of Premier League clubs believed to be interested with Liverpool apparently at the front of the queue.

Coming off a season that was imminently forgettable, the optimism in the fanbase for a successful campaign was not helped just before the season kickoff in August when the Reds interest in Moises Caicedo and Romeo Lavia was rebuffed with both players opting to join Chelsea.

With Liverpool desperately needing a holding midfielder after the departure of Fabinho to the Saudi league, Stefan Bajcetic  still learning his trade in the senior ranks and dealing with a injury setback, and with Trindade staying with his club until the end of the South American season in December, Jurgen Klopp turned to a largely unknown player in Wataru Endo.

With Liverpool looking to completely revamp their midfield with younger and more dynamic players, signing a 30 year-old seemed to go completely against that mould.

But while taking time to find his feet in a new league, the Japanese captain has ticked every box and passed every challenge asked of him and before leaving for the Asian Cup he was growing into a pivotal pice of the starting midfield.

Tim Vickery is the font of all knowledge when it comes to South American footballing talent be it emerging or established.

And given that the transfer window is well.and truly open, speaking to Sky Sports News (per the Echo), Vickery is somewhat at a loss to explain why a club has not come in for him.

“ I'm absolutely baffled. Even Fulham - who have been closest recently - I think that they seem to think that signing this player is not a priority. Liverpool were the club who were closest to signing him in the summer. We understand that a big money offer came in.

“Since then (Andre's) only grown, he's won the Copa Libertadores, he's played well in a bad Brazil side, did well in a losing cause against Manchester City in the final of the Club World Cup.

"He's a central midfielder who brings you so much. He does remind me of a young Javier Mascherano

“Given the success of a number of Brazilian central midfielders in English football recently, Joao Gomes or Douglas Luiz, this is the best of the bunch and it is surprising to me that there hasn't been more interest for him this window."

It is abundantly clear that there will be no incomings during this month, and in truth that makes sense, when you see the team currently operating like a well oiled machine.

While there are absentees through injury and international commitments, all the key players should be firmly in place again by mid February at the latest.

The only long term injury being Joel Matip but his role has been expertly filled by Jarrell Quansah, meanwhile it remains to be seen if, or indeed when Thiago Alcantara will play for the club again.

Endo and Alexis Mac Allister will continue to share the holding midfield role until the end of the season and it remains to be seen come the summer whether the interest for Andre is still there or if they look to focus on other parts of the pitch.