Liverpool and Arsenal eye same Brazilian transfer target as replacement for Mohamed Salah and Bukayo Saka: report

Whether we will actually get a real Premier League title race this season or not is yet to be seen, but if we do then it currently looks likely to come down to Liverpool and Arsenal battling it out for the trophy.

But both sides have good reason to look for reinforcements on the wing in the January transfer window. Mohamed Salah is out of contract at Anfield this summer, in case you hadn't heard, while summer back-up signing Federico Chiesa has struggled for fitness.

Arsenal have meanwhile entered the second half of the season without star man Bukayo Saka, who has gone down with a hamstring injury that is expected to keep him out for a couple of months. The January transfer window could provide a solution for both clubs...but not if they're both looking at the same player, which they reportedly are.

Feyenoord's Igor Paixao on Liverpool and Arsenal's radar

Caught Offside claim that Liverpool and Arsenal have joined Tottenham, Aston Villa, West Ham and Roma in looking at Feyenoord's Brazilian winger Igor Paixao.

Primarily a right-footed left winger, 24-year-old Paixao would actually be the mirror image of both Saka and Salah, but his form in the Netherlands has led to suggestions that he may be able to wield the same kind of influence.

Paixao has chipped in with four goals and nine assists in the Eredivisie this season. Perhaps more pertinently, he has made a sizeable contribution to Feyenoord's Champions League campaign with another four assists (including one against Manchester City) and one goal.

Of course, Paixao would already be a very familiar face for Liverpool boss Arne Slot, who was in charge at Feyenoord when the winger made the move from Coritiba in 2022.

CaughtOffside add that no talks have taken place nor any offers made from any club for Paixao yet, but that he would be expected to be available for a price in the region of €30m-35m (£24.9m-£29m).

Paixao only signed a new contract in Rotterdam in November, tying him to the club until 2029.

For FourFourTwo, any reports with half a dozen clubs linked but no actual offers made will always feel like an agent trying to drum up interest. But let's set that aside and discuss the idea on its own merits.

The reported price tag could be a draw here, given that Liverpool only really currently need back-up for what could be a busy second half of the season. Arsenal could meanwhile do with another option for the forward line after a disappointing return from the left wing this season - something they would surely like to improve, especially while Saka is out.

For what it's worth, Paixao's numbers do look impressive, but the Eredivisie is a notoriously tough league to gauge players' ability from. Much of the division below the big three compete at roughly Championship level.

Both clubs have had success stories signed directly from the Dutch top flight over the years - most notably Luis Suarez - but a lot more have needed an incremental step in between, whether that's at a Premier League club a little way down the pecking order (a la Gini Wijnaldum) or plenty of time to develop (like Robin van Persie).