Speaking to FFT, the Romanian coach confirmed that the Brazilian attacker's fate is in the hands of Shakhtar's president...
Shakhtar Donetsk head coach Mircea Lucescu has pointed towards the price tag of star attacker Alex Teixeira, who has excelled in the Champions League this season and been heavily linked with Liverpool.
Another in the Ukrainian outfit’s production line of exceptional Brazilian talents, Teixeira is the focal point of interest from both the Reds and Chelsea, according to media reports. However, the price is the sticking point.
"He’s worth €50 million," says Shakhtar’s head coach, Mircea Lucescu speaking exclusively to FourFourTwo. "He’s incredible, very fast, very good technique. I compare him with other players of the same age who changed [the fortunes of] a club, [Angel] Di Maria for example at Paris Saint-Germain.
"Teixeira can be at the same level, better even. He doesn’t get injured, and every year he gets better and better."
Goalscorer
Teixeira has scored 26 goals in 25 games this season, but Lucescu preferred to leave him out of the starting line-up for yesterday’s friendly encounter with Boca Raton in Florida.
"Our president knows when it is the time for Teixeira to go,” explained Lucescu. "I don’t want to keep a player against his desire. He wants to play in a big championship."
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I don’t want to keep a player against his desire. He wants to play in a big championship
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The 70-year-old Romanian tactician went on to explain that the gifted South American attacker may be kept until the summer to help win the Ukrainian championship.
If Liverpool or Chelsea were to meet the approximate £37m price tag for Teixeira, he would become Shakhtar’s highest-sold player. Douglas Costa is the most recent Brazilian to leave Shakhtar in a £21m deal to Bayern Munich last summer, following in the previous footsteps of Willian (£25m) and Fernandinho (£28m).
Admirers of Teixeira now have just six days to meet Shakhtar’s demands. The clock is ticking for what would be one of the highest January transfer window sales in history.
