Liverpool Target Alexandre Pato Confirms He’s Angling for a Return to Europe
As we inch closer to the January transfer window, Liverpool have been linked with pretty much every player in the Bundesliga with Reds boss Jurgen Klopp expected to return to Germany in search of re-enforcements for the Anfield outfit. While it remains likely that the ex-Borussia Dortmund boss will bring in a player or two this winter, he could be looking a little further away from home with Corinthians striker Alexandre Pato confirming that he’s looking longingly back across the ocean.
The former AC Milan attacker returned to his homeland hampered by injury and poor form at the start of 2014, but with those problems looking very much behind him, a return to one of Europe’s top leagues seems all the more plausible with the his club actively trying to get him off the wage bill and the player himself doing his best to hasten his exit from South America.
“I have not talked with anyone from Palmeiras. I see what happened in Palmeiras as an example. A lot was changed and they improved,” explained the 26-year old, dismissing speculation linking him with a move to Paulo Nobre’s improving side. “It’s not because I praised the president that I have an ulterior motive,” he continued, before confirming what we already knew, “I hope to return to Europe.”
Unsurprisingly, we haven’t heard a peep out of the Liverpool hierarchy despite Corinthians president Roberto de Andrade saying that there was an “agreement in principle” in place for the Reds to sign Pato in January and that there are only a “few missing details” to work out. Spending last season on loan at Sao Paulo, he bagged an impressive 26-goals in all competitions — more than half of what the entire Liverpool squad scored throughout last seasons dismal Premier League campaign.
More on this as it drags on and on and on…