Lucas Leiva, signed by then manager Rafael Benitez, struggled early on to but paved his way back through sheer hard work and determination to become one of the most important players at Liverpool and win hearts of the Anfield fans as well. But, series of injury has hampered his burgeoning development. At 27, he should be reaching the peak at the Merseyside club, but finds himself as a mere squad player in Brendan Rodgers’ team at the moment.
The Brazilian has been a shadow of the player he once was, and has dropped down the pecking orders at the club behind Allen, Henderson and Emre Can. He has made only three league appearances this season, and wishes to resurrect his career by getting regular game time elsewhere.
This summer he has been heavily linked with a move to Napoli; the possibility of him rejoining with former manager Rafael Benitez has been well speculated in the English and Italian news media.
Lucas has given an interview to Radio Marca which has been picked up by Gazzetta dello Sport, where he candidly admits that although he hasn’t spoken to other clubs, but he might look for a transfer since he is not playing regularly.
“Last summer there were contacts with Napoli, but we couldn’t reach a satisfactory agreement. It’s true that Benitez has always shown great confidence in me,” he said.
“I’m not talking to anyone until now because I’m still under contract, but since I do not play, I’ll have to look around because I want to play.”
It is quite clear that Lucas is unhappy with his present situation and is looking for a transfer at the earliest. Liverpool will be looking to get a decent transfer fee from his sale but he might have to take a pay cut to move elsewhere. A move to Italy seems more likely destination.
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