Liverpool are reportedly considering whether to trigger the €60m (£54.2m) release clause in the contract of Flamengo midfielder Joao Gomes.
The 21-year-old has emerged as a breakthrough star in his native Brazil and publicly revealed his desire to represent Liverpool one day earlier this year.
Responding to a question on an Instagram Live session, Gomes said: "Liverpool are a team I'd play for. I have the greatest desire to play. Playing in the Champions League is my biggest dream and that of my family, my biggest dream in football."
After Gomes added fuel to the fire over his future, speculation naturally arose over Liverpool making a move for the midfielder, with Jurgen Klopp expected to bolster his engine room in 2023.
Gomes ultimately agreed a new long-term deal at Flamengo until December 2027, and those fresh terms reportedly include a €60m (£54.2m) release clause.
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According to Sport - via the Liverpool Echo - the Reds remain determined to strike a deal for the former Brazil youth international and could trigger the clause as early as January.
The report claims that Klopp wants his side to 'throw the house out the window' to acquire Gomes's services, but they will be forced to beat out Real Madrid in order to do so.
Liverpool and Real were involved in a tense battle to sign Aurelien Tchouameni from Monaco in the summer window, and Los Blancos eventually won the race for the French midfielder.
The Merseyside giants could therefore glean a slice of revenge over Carlo Ancelotti's side by concluding a deal for Gomes, but Flamengo are refusing to enter negotiations and will demand the entirety of the release clause is paid.
Despite Real Madrid's view that Gomes could eventually become Casemiro's long-term successor, Los Blancos are supposedly reluctant to trigger the clause given their £86m outlay on Tchouameni.
The door could therefore be open for Liverpool to make their move over the winter, although Flamengo vice-president Marcos Braz recently claimed that his side were yet to receive a proposal for Gomes.
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"It was said that there was some discomfort, a relationship problem. The relationship with Joao Gomes was always the best possible, speaking personally and as vice president of the football department," Braz told ESPN Brasil.
"He is the first to arrive, last to leave, committed player, he doesn't leave the field with a beak... Nothing, absolutely nothing. There was no proposal for Joao Gomes, there was no consultation for him.
"So, it is a lot of lies that have been propagated about Joao Gomes since the beginning of these renewal issues. But if you ask me if next year, in the middle of the year, I think there will be something, I'll say: 'I think'.
"Due to the size of the player, for what he has become, but today, there is nothing. We are very happy and I am absolutely sure that he is very happy with the board of Flamengo.
"The certainty of a five-year contract protects Flamengo at the maximum, and then, yes, also build a good salary increase for a Flamengo holder. That's what happened. Flamengo is very happy with Joao Gomes, Joao Gomes is very happy with Flamengo, and most importantly, he has his head focused on Brazil."
Gomes has accrued a total of three goals and three assists from 106 matches for Flamengo since rising through the youth ranks, winning one Brasileiro title and one Supercopa do Brasil in 2021.
Ben Knapton
