£30m Andre talks continue, now Liverpool are running out of time

Liverpool are now running out of time to secure Andre from Fluminense as talks away from the Reds continue.

This comes from the Daily Mail. They report that Fulham are continuing talks with Fluminense over midfielder Andre.

The Brazilian is a player strongly linked with Liverpool. There were suggestions over the summer that the Reds were reasonably close to signing him, too, and that's repeated here.

But Fluminense were always unlikely to sell Andre as they embarked on an ultimately successful Copa Libertadores campaign. Now that competition is over and the Brazilian Serie A season draws to a close, the young midfielder could well leave.

But the Mail claim that the asking price, once at £20m, is now £30m. That's the result of Andre's success in the Copa Libertadores - and increased interest.

Fulham are pushing for this one. They are likely to lose Palinha to Bayern Munich in the winter, a deal that very nearly went through on deadline day. Andre would be their replacement.

And he's apparently 'very high' on their list. The big takeaway here, then, is that Liverpool are rapidly running out of time to sign Andre.

Of course, it's debatable whether they still want him. It's also very possible that the Reds wanted him at £20m but not £30m. Perhaps other targets have come up, or maybe they just eventually decided that he's not the right fit.

Because if Fulham are closing in on this one, the only real explanation is that Liverpool have pulled out. They have a much bigger pull than the Londoners, after all, and did some of the groundwork already in the summer.

So it's difficult to know whether this is a disappointing development or one that really doesn't affect things. Most still believe Liverpool should sign a defensive midfielder - but perhaps it won't be Andre.