Lucas to Galatasaray Rumours Gather Strength

On Sunday, the Turkish press was reporting that a deal that would take Lucas Leiva to Galatasaray was close to being done. Today, it’s the English press adding to those reports, and while they may not paint talks as being quite as advanced as their Turkish counterparts, taken together this seems a deal quickly moving into more likely than not territory.

Some reports in Turkey today have suggested a fee has been agreed and Lucas will travel to Istanbul shortly to undergo a medical. This would seem to run counter to the fact that Lucas landed with teammates in St. Louis on Monday ahead of the club’s final pre-season friendly in the United States. Yet it’s clear there’s more going on than idle rumour mongering.

That’s because club-connected journalist Dominic King of The Daily Mail as well as others are confirming that at the very least a move to Turkey is on the table; that Galatasaray have been in regular contact with Liverpool and that Lucas is seriously considering a move that would promise a more prominent role. For his part, though, Lucas isn’t pushing for it.

At this stage, it’s more that he’s open to it, considering it; that if a bid solidified he wouldn’t be against it. At the same time, reports universally seem to suggest that Liverpool manager Jürgen Klopp does value the depth Lucas adds and his versatility, and that the Liverpool manager would be quite happy to keep the player around to cover both midfield and defence.

Now, then, we wait. Wait to see if a suitable deal arrives—if, perhaps and as the Turkish reports insist, it already maybe has. And we wait to see if Lucas decides it’s worth moving on from Liverpool, where by all accounts he and his family are content, in order to try to secure something more than a depth role. Galatasaray’s interest, it appears, is real.

Now we wait to find out if real interest turns into a completed transfer or whether, as has been the case almost every summer since Lucas first joined Liverpool, the now-veteran holding player is once again still wearing red when the transfer window closes.