Liverpool have entered talks with Portuguese giants Sporting for the signature of Gelson Martins after talks with Roma for Mohamed Salah have slowed, reports BBC Sport.
Jurgen Klopp is still hopeful of securing the services of first choice option Salah but the Premier League side fear they could be priced out of a move for the former Chelsea winger with Roma demanding in excess of £40m.
Liverpool have reportedly even agreed personal terms with the Egypt international but talks have slowed to such a point where they have now opened discussions with Sporting for Martins.
Sporting's failure to qualify for next season’s Champions League coupled with growing financial pressures mean Jorge Jesus’ side may be forced to cash in on the 22-year-old and Liverpool are confident they would not have to pay his release clause, which is in the region of £50m.
Martins enjoyed a thoroughly impressive campaign in the Portuguese Liga NOS last season. In fact, only top goalscorer Bas Dost earned a higher WhoScored rating (7.73) in the league for Sporting than the Portuguese winger (7.31).
Not only that, but Martins provided the most assists in the league (9), while only Yacine Brahimi (88) and Gil Dias (83) completed more dribbles than the Sporting forward (73).
For more stats on Gelson Martins, click here to visit his WhoScored player page
