David Carmo had ‘a foot and a half’ in Liverpool, says Braga club president

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SC Braga president Antonio Salvador has admitted that centre-back David Carmo was very close to signing for Liverpool in the January transfer window.

Speaking in an interview with Marca, Salvador revealed that the centre-back had ‘a foot and a half’ into Liverpool. However, a transfer never materialised as the Reds eventually signed Preston North End defender Ben Davies and Schalke youngster Ozan Kabak on a dramatic deadline day for the reigning Premier League champions.

AS reported that Liverpool made a loan-to-buy offer for the Portuguese youngster in the final 24 hours of the winter market, however, Braga rejected a £21m offer from the Reds, with the Liga NOS side setting an asking price of £26m which the Merseyside club were unwilling to meet.

Described as a player with “enormous physical capacity and tactical awareness” by former Braga youth coach Jose Carvalho Araujo in an interview with Noticias ao Minuto, Carmo is a player that is rated highly at the Portuguese, and the club president believes that there will always be interest in the defender.

Salvador said on interest in Carmo from other clubs: “We are always under pressure to sell but we have managed to keep our players as long as possible. In January, David Carmo had a foot and a half at Liverpool, but we ended up keeping him. He still has several suitors but we have managed to keep him for now.”

TBR View: Carmo could remain a summer target for Liverpool

The summer transfer window is likely to be a massive one for the Reds, and with Joel Matip being linked with a potential departure from Liverpool as reported by Sunday World, Jurgen Klopp’s side could do with an extra centre-back, and Carmo could be the man they target.

The 21-year-old defender has enjoyed a breakout season with Braga, with the youngster play well over 1,500 minutes of football in call competitions for Carlos Carvalhal’s side, who currently sit fourth in the league table.

And given Liverpool’s impressive ability to shift off squad players for impressive fees, such as Dominic Solanke to Bournemouth for a reported £19m according to BBC Sport, the club could recoup the funds needed to sign Carmo should the Reds manage to offload Matip in the summer as well.