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Ever since Javier Mascherano's departure in 2010, Liverpool have been linked with an obscene number of defensive midfielders. With the exception of Emre Can — who has yet to feature at the position with any consistency — the only DM the Reds have successfully signed is *spits* Christian Poulsen. Notorious fan-divider Lucas Leiva has been the lone specialist in the role, as four different managers have attempted a myriad of constellations to protect the Liverpool back four.
The Reds have also been linked with a number of players from the Portuguese Liga NOS, always through the medium of Portuguese newspaper A Bola, always quoting astronomical sums, and never ever getting even close to completion. In the past year, Yacine Brahimi, Rúben Neves, João Mário, and William Carvalho have all been linked with a move to Merseyside, for a total sum of €135m, while the Reds have spent exactly €0 on those very players. In other words, when A Bola are a-mongering, your ears can remain safely unperked.
The most recent scoop coming out of the anti-ITKs at A Bola is that both Manchester United and Liverpool had scouts present during FC Porto's 7-0 thumping of Nacional at the weekend, with defensive midfielder Danilo Pereira their supposed target. Danilo was a bit of a journeyman in his early years, traveling to Italy and Greece, before returning to Portugal for his breakthrough with Marítimo in 2013. Porto snatched him up for a typically paltry €4.5m, where he established himself as their first-choice defensive anchor.
Having since earned Champions League experience with Porto and become a EURO Cup winner with Portugal, Danilo's buyout clause is now at €60m, and while he is a stout defensive midfielder — 6'2" of defensive power and dynamism, paired with a calm head on the ball — there is no way he'll be commanding a fee anywhere near that. Nor is it likely that anything A Bola reports will ever have any bearing on events in the physical world.
Danilo Pereira is a fine player, and would likely do well in the Premier League, but any report by A Bola should be approached with extreme prejudice, placing this one firmly in the nonsense basket.