Liverpool need funds to cover purchases of £25m Thiago and £45m Diogo Jota
Tuesday 22 September 2020 10:43, UK
Crystal Palace are prepared to pay £19m plus £6m in add-ons for Liverpool striker Rhian Brewster.
Discussions between the two clubs are ongoing, though Sky Sports News has been told any deal has to include the option for Liverpool to have first refusal, and buy the player back for £37m in the future.
The Palace chairman, Steve Parish, has this afternoon taken to social media to deny the club has made any formal or informal offer for Brewster.
Jurgen Klopp has not fully decided whether Brewster will figure in his plans this season, though Sky Sports News has been told he is now prepared to let the 20-year-old leave - with Liverpool needing funds to cover the purchases of £25m Thiago and £45m Diogo Jota.
Brewster scored 10 goals in 20 Championship games last season while on loan at Swansea and is keen on discussing the idea of a move, in order to get more first-team football.
Palace are now the front-runners for Brewster's signature, but Sky Sports reported last week up to six Premier League clubs - including Sheffield United, Newcastle and Brighton - also hold an interest in him.
Last month, Brewster made a substitute appearance in Liverpool's Community Shield defeat to Arsenal and missed the crucial penalty in the shoot-out.
Correction: 21/09/20: 3:38pm: In a previous version of this story, Sky Sports News incorrectly reported Crystal Palace had made a formal bid for Rhian Brewster.
Analysis by Sky Sports' EFL pundits Keith Andrews and Don Goodman:
Sky Sports assess Brewster's attributes and explain why the Liverpool striker, 20, is set to be a star of the future in English football.
"He just looks very comfortable and with the composure that he shows in front of goal, he is lethal," says Andrews. "His general build-up play maybe needs to be worked on but there's going to be aspects of every part of his game that slightly need to be worked on.
"The biggest thing he's got going for him is the fact that he's an instinctive finisher. He doesn't thrash at things, he's very composed and he has a knack for heading as well.
"He can't overpower 6ft 2in centre halves, he has to out-cute them. He has to get in between areas and he does that very well."
The summer transfer window closes at 11pm on Monday October 5 with a feast of activity lined up on Transfer Deadline Day on Sky Sports News and across our Sky Sports platforms.
A domestic-only window for deals between the Premier League and EFL then runs from October 5 and closes on Friday October 16 at 5pm. Follow all the news and analysis on SSN and across Sky Sports' digital platforms, including with our dedicated Transfer Centre blog.