Talks will be held: Liverpool want £26M midfielder but must beat rejected Chelsea bid

Liverpool are in the race to sign Gabriel Moscardo ahead of Chelsea amid intense Premier League interest in the Brazilian defensive midfielder.

Recently, it has appeared as though Chelsea are the most likely to sign the 18-year-old.

The Blues sent a "formal, official bid" worth €21 million (£18.4m) in the summer while Barcelona cannot afford to compete financially, according to an update from Fabrizio Romano.

Now, the London Evening Standard reports Corinthians want to earn €30 million (£26m) from his sale with Liverpool, Arsenal and Chelsea gunning for his signature.

Nizaar Kinsella penned the report, writing that Chelsea will return for the midfielder after their rejected bid in the summer.

More movement on this transfer will come after November 25 as the Brazilian club "will wait until after their presidential elections" before they will hold talks with interested clubs.

While Liverpool and Arsenal are both interested, Chelsea "lead" the list of teams tracking Moscardo ahead of a potential January transfer battle for his services.

What has Gabriel Moscardo said about Premier League interest?

Moscardo recently admitted that although he's aware of interest from Chelsea, in particular, he doesn't know all the details, preferring to leave it to his father.

The Brazilian midfielder said: “I can confirm that there was interest from Chelsea few months ago, strong interest… but I want to help Corinthians get out of this situation”.

“To tell you the truth, I have very little information, my father knows a few things”.

What are Liverpool's January transfer plans?

It's obvious Jurgen Klopp needs a defensive midfielder with Andre Trindade from Fluminense still the most likely to join the club in January.

To sign him, they will need to overcome interest from Arsenal and Manchester United.

The Brazilian is perfectly suited to the role Klopp has been forced to shoehorn Alexis Mac Allister into.

Interest in signing a new defender remains although it's prudent to assume that will be addressed in the summer once the 2023/24 season is over.

With the winter transfer window not far away now, it will be interesting to see what Liverpool do.