18 Jul 2013

'He will leave' - LFC make transfer approach for exciting £20m Brazil star.

Liverpool are reportedly ready to go head-to-head with Arsenal in the battle for Brazilian international Bernard Anício Caldeira Duarte (aka Bernard).

According to The Telegraph today:

"Liverpool are interested in Brazilian winger Bernard and have approached his club, Atletico Mineiro.

"Bernard has a release clause of around £20 million.

"The South American is wanted by several Champions League clubs, Arsenal among them"


The 20-year old Brazilian is also linked with a move to Porto, and when asked about his future in June, he told reporters:

"The European transfer window is open at the moment and the other clubs I have been linked with are good too. I have no preference, but Porto are a very good club, with a great structure and are always in the Champions League. I am proud to be linked to a club like that."

Uh-oh - it's those dreaded words again: Champions League. Bernard may not have a preference for a specific club, but it looks like he wants to play in Europe's premier competition, which - alas - would seem to rule out a move to Anfield.

Having said that, like Coutinho, Bernard is only 20 years old, and he may see the rising Reds as an attractive proposition. Additionally, he's probably much more likely to get regular first-team football at Anfield.

Mineiro coach Cuca concedes that it will be difficult to hold onto Bernard. Earlier this month, he told UOL:

"Atletico Mineiro won't be able to keep Bernard, but this is natural. We have to take advantage of having him in Libertadores. It seems he will leave, and if that happens, it's up to us to develop another player like him."

It's easy to see why Brendan Rodgers is interested in Bernard - he's basically Coutinho MK2:

* Young, Brazilian flair player.
* Lots of experience despite his age (97 games for Mineiro)
* Already a full Brazil international (5 games so far)

£20m, though? Bernard may be an exciting player, but if that amount of money is to be spent on one player then it should (IMO) go on the finished article, i.e. someone experienced, who will go straight into the first team and make an immediate, game-changing impact.

To be fair, Coutinho did exactly that when he arrived at the club, and if Bernard did the same, I doubt many fans - myself included - would question the signing.





NOTE: Please stick to the Comment Policy (Click to read)


63 comments:

  1. liverpool4life5653:05 pm, July 18, 2013

    Great little player, would do well on the left of Sturridge and on right have aspas. With Gerrard,coutinho,Lucas behind. Looks decent. Also we've had a bid accepted By PSG for gameiro according to marca. IF true then would be a decent signing....BUT would mean we have 5 decent goal scorers. Good thing

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  2. Would prefer to spend £15m on Eriksen than £20m on Bernard.

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  3. totally different position

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  4. Albert Nana Hagan3:18 pm, July 18, 2013

    I just want us to sign either him or Christian plus Toby
    And a left back quickly so we can focus on a full per season and be ready for the new season. These speculations are relentless and tedious
    Sign your targets or sell so we can focus on the upcoming season.

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  5. I agree with JK about signing a finished article. I wouldn't be worried if he has the impact of Coutinho or even better but then comes the question what IF he fails to adapt to the Premier League and 20million is a really big gamble that we can't go for after Downing and Carroll transfers.

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  6. ...Problem is, he's LITERALLY knee high to a grasshopper. the boy's even shorter than Messi for crying out loud lol.

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  7. I know not every fan like this player but I would sign Benteke cause Suarez is out for matches. Erikson I don't know this Bernard to much but if his as good as Coutinho . two defenders that's it. Buy the way in Australia at the state of origin rugby league . Man united were there at the olimpic stadium 83000 fans. when the said man united were in the crowd a pic off them come on the ground screen and 83000 strong BOOOOOOOOOOOO come on when Giggs was interviewed and the Liverpool chants come out

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  8. they play the same position.. ronaldiniho being there forces bernard to play LW but like eriksen he can play many positions.

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  9. eriksen going to ac milan mate,.get bernard now and stop messing around over a couple of million pound or we will miss out again ?

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  10. After Liverpool's great start in the transfer market they seem to be arsing around now. Maybe the people that delayed their summer holidays are now taking them.

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  11. 20 mil pounds on this boy is a big no-no. He has no experience playing in EPL, which the style of play is quite different from the Brazilian, Spanish and Portuguese league. Also, 20 mil pounds is a figure whereby regardless of performance, he will be played regularly in the team, to justify the price tag. More specifically, to justify the whosoever that signs the player is not dumb.

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  12. Haven't even finished watching...YES! Even Carrol could score from this guys crosses...and we paid that some to Downing...nothing is fair, at least Rodgers seems to have realised that English players are not the answer to Liverpool's problems, this guy would bring another dimension to our play...width...considering what City paid for Navas (who I think is overrated) this could be value...should probably not look to pay more than 12m...

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  13. Jaimie, didn't you say this story is absolutely rumor a few days ago ?

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  14. BUY!!!! We'll have a "Messi" in our team then! In the clip move to 1:15, that just seals the reason to get him!

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  15. Agree, sounds like Eriksen may be off to Milan. We linger far to long on certain players.

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  16. Apparently a company called BMG own 50% of his playing a rights. A company that unsurprisingly has a close relationship with Porto. Why am I not surprised.

    Anyhoo, bit risky of Bernard to join a European side and spend time adapting before the WC, as he is in the squad already and Scolari isn't afraid to pick homegrown players at the expense of the likes of Ramires in Europe.

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  17. It still is. A very suspect source claimed LFC interest earlier this week, but I trust the Telegraph, hence the post.

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  18. Jamie its for you!!! Ohh 20m on a player who never ever played in europe???? why we are so lazy about erikson..he clearly not behind money and very much experienced and decent player with huge potential..at the moment he could be our marquee signing..please somebody explain we liverpool not after erikson..we can get him as little as 15m so why?? as far as i know our net spend this summer is mere 4.2m,in that case we still have the transfer kitty from FSG,which is around 20-25m so JK please Explain the Erikson's to liverpool situation??

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  19. bernard looks great with feet and head also quick to react

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  20. This comment is completely off topic but I could stop myself from sharing this:

    "If Barça pays Silva's buy-out clause, I'll pay Messi's." - PSG president, Nasser Al-Khelaifi


    That's why Barca are now pursuing Agger I guess.

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  21. He said he'd like to go to PSG and Mashitter Shitteh. What else does he want by going there?

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  22. we can pay sanchezs then ;)

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  23. eriksen benteke bernard ....all linked with preferences to other clubs and if we sell suarez last minute i fear we have another dempsey saga again and we cant count on borini and sturridge to be fit to save us this time round

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  24. hell fit in with the rest of the team then

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  25. who are the five if Suarez leaves and sturridge isnt injured ?

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  26. or 6m on diame

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  27. I WAS AGAINST SIGNIN AFRICAN PLAYERS COS U LOSE THEM IN JAN FOR THE CUP OF NATIONS WHATS GOIN TO HAPPEN WHEN WE LOSE HALF THE TEAM IN PANTO SEASON!!!

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  28. we have more chance of signing Bernard Hopkins....he will go straight to a Spanish or Italian team ......

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  29. it wont matter anyway billy we are usually out of the league and all the cups by Jan anyway

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  30. i think you mean the boxer

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  31. its a knocking bet mate that we will go into the season half baked...we only bid for players no one is bidding for under fsg...chance are suarez will go without a replacement and sturridge will pull his hamstring putting his boots on ...and we will be left short up front ...that wont matter though as the yanks will have banked 40m and will hope we have forgotten come the jan transfer window

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  32. HEY HO OR SHOULD IT BE HI HO ! THINK WE WILL STILL BE IN THE LIVERPOOL SENIOR CUP

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  33. its rogers and his little man syndrome or napoleon complex if your over 5 foot tall hes not interested....god help us when them high balls start streaming in

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  34. dont know much about this guy, but people seem to think he is good, however no way for 20mil. 13mil tops.

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  35. ur left out buying mediocre crap with that 40 million

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  36. YEP WE CERTAINLY NEED A COUPLE OF 6FT 4 INCH PLAYERS SAME SIZE AS COATES BUT NOT DONKEYS LIKE THE ABOVE

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  37. or we werent ever interested, thus didnt linger at all.

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  38. would rather bust 20 mill on fred

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  39. BREAKING NEWS. WAYNE ROONEY SET TO JOIN CHELSEA AFTER HIS WIFE COLLEEN AGREED PERSONAL TERMS WITH JOHN TERRY.

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  40. liverpool4life5657:34 pm, July 18, 2013

    Which Fred?

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  41. liverpool4life5657:36 pm, July 18, 2013

    Aspas,borini,Sturridge,suarez(still here) and gameiro. If any one leaves then we will replace them, also if Sturridge is injured than someone else will come into first eleven. Even coutinho can play their.

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  42. the brazilian fred who just played in confed cup is slightly stocky like the hulk and has curly hair :P

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  43. MORE BREAKIN NEWS PAPISS CISSE FINED AFTER REFUSING TO WEAR CLUB SPONSOR WONGA .INITIAL FINE OF £500, RISING TO £444,000 IF NOT PAID BY THE WEEKEND !!!!!

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  44. liverpool4life5657:38 pm, July 18, 2013

    He 29... also his fee isn't that much but good shout....:)

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  45. oh i thought he was 27 :( ........ he is in his prime now he would give us two good years of service and he has a great eye for goal

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  46. you are just confirming my fears.....gameiro is far from a done deal aspas is unproven borini is poor....sturridge isnt reliable enough on the fitness front and for all rogers guff suarez es position is untenable .... whats funny is the senior players don't seem to respect rogers and his authority and spout off in the papers when ever it suits them despite him fawning all over them lol

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  47. thats just the norm

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  48. rogers and fsg have been gazumped by the mighty sevilla it looks like for gameiro...so like i said we will be thread bare up front when arguably are only world class player leaves...rogers + fsg + no europe + no star players means its going to be a real tuff task to attract genuine quality and not just potential

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  49. liverpool4life5658:14 pm, July 18, 2013

    We will just have to wait and see what happens :)

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  50. You make a good point XXCELL.When you overspend on a signing it's stupid from a business point of view and it also puts huge pressure on the player to justify the price tag.
    We put CARROLL and DOWNING in a sinking boat with the money we forked out for them.SD has shown some fight but his production is still below LFC standards.
    Making the move to LIVERPOOL has intense pressure that can be hard to handle.Trying to live up to a inflated price tag on top of that can kill a players time at the club before he's even kicked a ball.
    The 35m we spent on AC even if he hit the ground running similar to SUAREZ, nobody would've been really be impressed because of the ridiculous amount of money we spent on him.Hopefully the days of us paying 2 or 3 times the market value for players are long gone!

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  51. liverpool4life5658:18 pm, July 18, 2013

    But it isn't all about that is it? It's okay to go for unproven players.... The window isn't even done yet we will see more signings come in. We can't compete with the fee being paid these day without CL....

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  52. i dont want to seem like a kill joy but i have a genuine fear we will enter the season with a worse squad of players than last year...no shelvy..no carra..no suarez..no pepe...its subjective that the players we are brining in are better or will fit in

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  53. papiss cisse fined after refusing to wear club sponsor Wonga. initial fine is£400 rising to £444,000 if not paid by the weekend!

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  54. starr trueman Elliott flintstone the list is endless but for sure it wont be fred the brazillian

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  55. Nay, leave him alone. Paying Tellos's better. :P

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  56. £15mill tops for this guy plus add ons for appearance and performances. Potentially cop cult hero similar to Coutinho, maybe faster and trickier. Hardly the marquee signing we crave. Problem is he won't help us if Brenda does'nt sort out our soft center, DM is what he should be looking for, we've had no one good enough since Mascherano. FSG won't pend untill we get the cash from Reina and Suarez and possibly Dagger. Then it's ANOTHER free transfer window for them.

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  57. What are you talking about? Free window?

    12/13 NET total spend: £40.8m

    11/12 NET total spend: £35.3m

    The only free window was the Torres sale season, and that was only £5m in profit after getting £17m more for Masch late on
    You're talking rubbish.

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  58. Totally worth the money in my opinion. Pace, gives width to the formation and has great skill on the ball with both feet. It's scary to think of him, Coutinho and Suarez together.

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  59. Downhearted LFC Fan1:13 pm, July 20, 2013

    BR latest statement where he claims he didn't get the chance to sit down (PSGwith Mkhitaryan before Dortmund swooped in just shows how shambolic a job FSG are doing of running our club.

    LFC were linked to him for weeks before Dortmund showed interest and the player even went awol to try and force through the move, yet no bid was made and LFC did not contact the player.

    Had we signed him our chances of keeping Suarez would surly have improved drastically too. Now he's gonna hand in a transfer request to move to Arsenal!! If they get him they're guaranteed a top 4 finish, which effectively ties up all the Champions League places before the season even starts!

    Not to mention other targets we've missed out on due to procrastination: Lucas Digne (PSG), Christian Eriksen (AC Milan), Victor Wanyama (Southampton!?), Kevin Gameiro (Sevilla)...

    It's beyond a joke now. We spent £9m on a 'keeper who's on the same level as the one we already had, just to loan Reina out. So £9m of the budget wasted! £14m on Aspas and Alberto. No doubt both are good additions, but even BR has called them squad players, yet they've been handed the No. 9 and No. 6 shirts!?

    Our club is nose-diving transfer window by transfer window (excluding this January's). If Suarez goes to Arsenal there is no coming back.

    We've been snubbed so many times in this window (by players that wanted to come, but we wasted time and they got better offers) and our own star player trying to engineer a move away by any means necessary (even to another EPL club, meaning his claims about the press were just a way of jumping from the sinking ship that is LFC) means we will not be attracting decent players for years to come. Probably until we get the new stadium and hopefully new ownership. Its a shame as I've supported the club for over 35 years, but the end is nigh.

    Under Hicks & Gillette we had success on the pitch but we were facing financial implosion. Under FSG THEY have financial stability and are cashing in, whilst they're more than happy for the team itself to implode.

    Rant over.

    RIP LFC. YNWA

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  60. Gameiro is off to Sevilla.

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  61. Eriksen is off to AC Milan.

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  62. Don't forget we nearly got beat to the signing of Alderweireld by the giants, Norwich!!! Although we still haven't put a bid in!

    Photos of Ian Ayre on his jollies wearing a ridiculous Hawaiian shirt claiming he can do deals no matter where he is in the world could explain why our club is spiralling into the abyss!

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