Liverpool make £30m offer for Rio 2016 Olympics gold medal winner

Liverpool have made an approach to sign Brazilian attacker Luan from Gremio as Jurgen Klopp looks to bolster his attack before the summer transfer window shuts at 11pm BST on Wednesday (31 August). The South American star was a key member of the Brazil squad that won the gold at this summer's Olympics in Rio.

According to Brazilian radio station Futebol da Gaucha, the Reds have submitted a £30m ($39.2m) offer for the forward, who scored five goals and provided six assists in 22 appearances for Gremio last season. The German coach has already added Sadio Mane to Liverpool's attack this summer, and is said to be keen to bring the Brazilian and line him up alongside compatriots Philippe Coutinho and Roberto Firmino.

The 23-year-old Brazil U23 international garnered attention from the top clubs across Europe following his impressive performance for his nation at the summer Olympic Games in his homeland. He scored two goals during their campaign and contributed with three assists as Selecao won their first ever gold medal in the football event.

Apart from the Reds, Brazilian publication Zero Hora, has reported interest from Premier League rivals Manchester United, La Liga giants Barcelona and Italian champions Juventus. The Merseyside club, however, have taken the lead by submitting an offer, while Gremio vice-president hinted that they are willing to sanction the move if the right offer arrives.

"Every good player is targeted. If a proposal arrives, we will analyse," Alberto Guerra said last week, as quoted by the Sun.

Leicester City were the first English club to show interest in the Brazilian attacker with the player's agent Jair Peixoto confirming talks with Claudio Ranieri's side. He made it clear that no club has priority, as they will move to the club that makes their move first and match their requirements in terms of fee and package. However, the Foxes dropped their interest and completed a move for Ahmed Musa from CSKA Moscow.

"There is no talk of priority. We will close with the first to arrive with what we demand," Peixoto was quoted as saying by the Sun.

"Luan could be registered as a 'special player' too, he fits it, and therefore he would not have any obstacle in case of an agreement.

"It was a conversation to show what we want as a business model, our ideas and what we plan to achieve. We didn't set a deadline for the bid to be made. It could be tomorrow or in 10 days," the player's agent added.