Liverpool 'retain an interest' in Sporting Lisbon's Nuno Mendes but the 18-year-old defender is about to become a lot more expensive.
The Premier League champions reportedly made an offer of £19million for the left-back, which was rejected by Sporting, who would have accepted £40m.
But in response to the flurry of interest in Mendes, Sporting plan to tie the youngster down to a new contract with a £63m buy-out clause in the coming weeks.
According to Portuguese newspapers Record and O Jogo (via Sport Witness), Liverpool's interest in Mendes is 'concrete' despite them not being in urgent need of a left-back.