A week has passed since Liverpool were offered £40 million for Fabinho and it has left Bayern Munich closely monitoring the situation.
The Reds are in a state of just waiting for the first domino to fall as both Fabinho and Jordan Henderson prepare to leave the club.
The Brazilian is anticipated to imminently reunite with manager Nuno Espirito Santo Santo at Al Ittihad, the pair briefly worked together in 2012, with the former Wolves man having pushed hard to sign the 29-year-old.
A bid was tabled last Friday, the day before the squad travelled to Germany for their training camp, but the transfer is yet to be official and has instead dragged on.
It has led to Bayern keeping a close eye on any developments, with Sky Germany’s Florian Plettenberg reporting the German champions are “monitoring his situation closely,” ready just in case the deal falls through.
??? News #Fabinho: Bayern is monitoring his situation closely!
Fabinho, close to join Al-Ittihad as Liverpool wants to finalize the deal soon. Bayern aware of it. #LFC
?? But: If the deal falls through, he would be interesting for Bayern! He fits into the profile. Bosses have… pic.twitter.com/1oaICSXUdc
— Florian Plettenberg (@Plettigoal) July 21, 2023
Bayern are in need of a defensive midfielder and they made attempts to sign Declan Rice before he chose Arsenal, and Fabinho “fits into the profile.”
Though, you would question if Bayern could or would table a similarly appealing £40 million package to Liverpool or if they would consider a deal including a player swap, say for Joshua Kimmich.
But it’s a pretty safe bet they can’t match Fabinho‘s wage offer from the Saudi club.
A logical reason for Fabinho’s deal not yet being official could be Liverpool’s need to find and sign a replacement.
A number of names are being mooted, including Crystal Palace‘s Cheick Doucoure and Fulham‘s Joao Palhinha, but a left-field option is certainly possible and we could see the club pull off another Dominik Szoboszlai-style transfer.
Though it is also possible that Al Ittihad are keeping tabs on other players and will feel comfortable knowing they have the safety of a deal agreed for Fabinho as they do so – but that would be walking a thin line where Liverpool are concerned.
With Henderson’s time at Liverpool also nearing its end and the need for replacements, the club needs to be smart when rubber stamping the deals; but it is still expected that both Fabinho and Henderson will be playing in the Saudi Pro League in the coming season.
