Liverpool 'make £20m bid for Douglas Luiz' as Reds seek icon Steven Gerrard's favor

Liverpool have reportedly made a £20million bid for Aston Villa midfielder Douglas Luiz as they seek a last-minute midfield fix. Jurgen Klopp admitted on Tuesday that the Reds are looking for a midfielder but if they are "the right one" is available after missing out on Aurelien Tchouameni at Real Madrid earlier this summer.

Jude Bellingham is a top target, but Borussia Dortmund have refused to sell the England midfielder until at least next summer. Liverpool instead had to look elsewhere for options but struggled to find good adjustments and only have until 11pm on Thursday to complete any late deal.

Yet Matheus Leal, a journalist for Brazilian outlet Torcedores.com, the Reds have now made an opening offer of £20m for Villa's Luiz. It is claimed that the player would be happy to move to Anfield, but Villa want more money to let the nine-cap Brazil international go.

Luiz is out of contract next summer and Villa risk losing him for free if they fail to agree a new deal before January. The Villans were hoping to sign him to a new three-year deal despite interest from elsewhere, but he can now leave.

Villa wants more than £20million to let go of an important figure that Steven Gerrard highly values ​​and has branded 'top talent' just hours before the window closes. Despite this, he has started just one of four Premier League appearances so far this season following the signing of Boubacar Kamara.

La Liga giants Atletico Madrid are also interested in a £20m boost for the player. Newcastle are believed to have had a £30million bid rebuffed in January, while Manchester United and Arsenal have also previously been linked with South America.

Liverpool would need a favor from club legend Gerrard to get a deal done, as Klopp has made it clear he doesn't have a lot of funds available and they won't pay more than the odds players. The German said on Tuesday: "Let me put it like this, every once in a while I would like to risk a little more - but I don't decide that. I don't pay attention, we are told what is possible and what's 't. That's it. In this range, we try to work it."

Luiz has been at Villa for three years, making 115 appearances and scoring six while assisting eight goals since a £15m move from Manchester City. And for Liverpool to sign him and add an extra body in midfield, they may need Gerrard to allow him to leave for less than Villa's asking price.

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How likely that is, however, is another matter, regardless of Gerrard's ties to the Anfield outfit. The Liverpudlian has made it clear he's a fan of Luiz's abilities and he'll know replacing him would be very difficult at this point in the window, so he'd much rather keep him even at the risk of him leaving on a Bosman the next summer. /p>

Gerrard said of Luiz in early August: "I think he's happy at Aston Villa. He has a year left. I think there are tentative talks going on right now. We really like the player. .We think he is a great talent.

“He's a fantastic age. But we also respect the player, we don't want to put too much pressure there. very different because Douglas has always been all-out and committed and happy and settled.

"So he's someone we'll see what happens in the coming weeks, but talks are probably ongoing and we know his portrayal extremely well, so we'll see how that progresses."