Brazil star is seeking a whopping £100k-per-week contract on Merseyside.
Liverpool have opened talks with big-spending Russian outfit Anzhi Makhachkala over the sale of coveted attacking midfield player Willian this summer, according to reports in the Daily Mirror.
The Merseyside giants have now made the capture of a big-name player their number one priority of the close-season transfer market after the club’s American owners, the Fenway Sports Group, promised head coach Brendan Rodgers the financial backing to bring a marquee signing to Anfield before the window shuts for business on Sept 2.
And the Northern Irishman has identified Anzhi’s some-time Brazil international as being that man, despite the fact that Willian only moved to the Russian side from Ukrainian champions Shakhtar Donetsk for a whopping 35 million euros at the turn of the year.
However, Anzhi are now understood to be in financial difficulty, with the club needing to offload as many big earners from their wage bill as possible before the cut-off date of Sept 2, with William one of those star players.
But despite the Reds having now entered into negotiations with Anzhi over a deal for the creative playmaker, who has scored just one goal in his 15 appearances for the club so far since he joined them in January, as yet no fee has even been discussed for his sale.