Francisco Conceicao has publicly addressed transfer speculation surrounding him in recent days, with Liverpool among the clubs rumoured to be showing an interest in him.
Earlier this week, it was reported that the Reds are monitoring the 23-year-old as a prospective successor to Mo Salah, who’s announced that he’ll be leaving Anfield at the end of this season after nine glorious years on Merseyside.
The Juventus winger is currently on international duty with Portugal, and when addressing the media prior to their friendly against Mexico over the weekend, he made it clear that he’s aware of the speculation over his future.
Whilst not addressing Liverpool explicitly, Conceicao told reporters (via Liverpool Echo): “I know people talk about a big club, but I play for a big club where I am happy.
“At the moment I am only focused on these two games with the national team and then I will focus on the final stretch of the season to help my club as much as possible.”
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It would appear that the 23-year-old – who has two professional footballer brothers and is the son of ex-Portugal forward (now Al-Ittihad coach) Sergio Conceicao – has taken the diplomatic approach to answering questions regarding his future.
Perhaps his words are genuine and he has no intention of leaving Juventus, where he’s played for the past two seasons, but there’s every chance that privately he’s intrigued by the interest from clubs like Liverpool.
As per Fotmob, some of the winger’s underlying performance metrics this season are among the most impressive in his position throughout Serie A, but he falls significantly short on that most important of barometers for an attacking player – goals.
Conceicao has scored just four times in 34 appearances this term. For comparison, even a centre-back in Virgil van Dijk has five, while Salah is on 10 goals in what – by common consensus – has been a substandard campaign for him.
The Portuguese forward’s output would need to improve rapidly if he’s to be considered a serious option for Liverpool as a successor to the legendary Egyptian, but if his public comments are genuine, then it seems that he’s in no rush to leave Turin.
He could develop into a truly elite winger in time, but for now the Reds could do with a more readymade alternative to fill the massive void that our number 11 will leave.
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