Liverpool could have signed PSG star for £33m who Thierry Henry hailed over Kylian Mbappe

While Paris Saint-Germain failed once again as a collective in the Champions League, one player’s stock has risen infinitely across recent European clashes - and he was once on track to sign for Liverpool.

Vitinha has been in brilliant form for PSG in recent months as he has become a key figure in Luis Enrique’s midfield. Featuring 44 times in all competitions, the 24-year-old has nine goals and five assists and is pushing to be a starter for Portugal this summer at the European Championships, where his stock could rise even higher. But he cut a disconsolate figure, lying almost face down on the Parc des Princes turf as PSG failed again - and he was one player who didn’t deserve to be on the losing side.

Following their authoritative comeback against Barcelona in the quarter-finals, the Portuguese midfielder played a key role, netting in both ties and was hailed by Arsenal and French legend Thierry Henry as being the main man for PSG ahead of superstar Kylian Mbappe. “The main man for me, he’s been running the show for this team for a very, very long time now, is Vitinha.” Henry told CBS Sports. “Nobody talks about him. He scored in Paris, he scored again tonight. He was everywhere tonight. But yes, tomorrow Kylian [Mbappe] will grab all the headlines.” Premier League fans should remember the diminutive midfielder from his short spell at Wolves during the 2020/21 season that was affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. He started just five games across 22 appearances and following a strong effort the season after in Portugal, Liverpool were reportedly in the mix to sign him. Two reports from 2022 back this up with Portuguese newspaper Record, claiming that Liverpool were looking at the Porto star, who valued him at £33m. While a second in July claimed he was under serious consideration as he ‘ticked all the boxes’.

At the time, Liverpool were hoping to upgrade on Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Naby Keita and James Milner, and Vitinha’s technical and dogged-like personality would have certainly gone hand-in-hand with Jurgen Klopp’s style of play. Following the defeat, he’s garnered a lot of praise on social media from fan accounts, with one highly-followed account calling him a ‘right-footed Bernardo Silva’ - and they aren’t wrong.

While sharing a similar build of around five foot seven, FBref claims he is statistically most similar to the Manchester City midfielder. Also on the list are Ilkay Gundogan and Federico Valverde and his numbers from an all-action attacking and passing standpoint are elite and he’s certainly a player to keep an eye out for this summer.