Liverpool in 'very advanced' talks for €30m star - 'close' to signing him - same agents as Fabinho and Jota

Liverpool have been heavily linked with a move to sign Lille and Portugal midfielder Renato Sanches ever since he moved to Lille and a report from El Nacional suggests the move is now close.

Sanches is represented by Gestifute, the agency that represents Fabinho and Diogo Jota as well as many other high profile Premier League stars.

The Portugal international came close to joining Barcelona and Wolves in the summer but he suffered a serious knee injury which scuppered any chances of him leaving Lille while Liverpool were named by Mundo Deportivo as the most likely destination for the midfielder.

Lille are not the same team that won Ligue 1 last season and El Nacional reports that after 'collective performances' declined, the French club is looking to sell players and Sanches is the 'big candidate to be transferred.'

The report reads: "Liverpool, Sanches' new favourite.

"The disappearance of Barça from the auction has caused Liverpool to remain the big favourite to welcome Sanches into their ranks."

Crucially, the report ends by stating that "the talks are very advanced, and the deal would be very close to materializing. Xavi has set it up for the 'Reds'.

Liverpool will need to pay €30million to sign the former Bayern Munich ace but given that there is a number of midfielders out there available for free or similar fees without his injury track record, I would be furious to see the Reds sign Sanches.

Which is disappointing because Sanches would be an incredible ball carrier for Liverpool and could perform a similar role to Georginio Wijnaldum at Anfield but he simply cannot guarantee his fitness.

Franck Kessie might have been given the run-around at the San Siro by Naby Keita but he's a great player with a lot of potential and he's available for free in June and his injury track record is phenomenal.

According to Transfermarkt, he's only missed four games in his entire 280-game career which is better than any other midfielder available to Jurgen Klopp and makes Sanches' record look even worse.

The Portuguese has missed 69 games across 440 days. Liverpool simply cannot afford to sign a player that will certainly miss around 25% of the season as far as his injury history is concerned.