Willian Pacho has been ‘shortlisted’ by Arsenal and Liverpool, according to German media.
The Ecuador international has impressed in his first season of Bundesliga football. Good on the ball, left-footed and a solid defender, the centre-back has been one of the standout performers for a hit-and-miss Eintracht Frankfurt side since joining the club from Royal Antwerp for €9 million in the summer.
The 22-year-old has exceeded expectations which has led to Frankfurt rethinking their willingness to sell Pacho. Initially, the plan had been to keep him at the club at least until 2025. But, as already reported several weeks ago, the fact that Premier League clubs have begun ‘queueing up’ for the defender has led to the Eagles considering a summer sale.
The sides said to be interested back then were Arsenal, Liverpool and Man Utd. Now, Sky Germany’s Florian Plettenberg has provided an update on Pacho, and he intriguingly omitted one of these sides.
Arsenal, Liverpool keen
According to the journalist, Arsenal and have Liverpool have ‘shortlisted’ Pacho ahead of the summer transfer window. Surprisingly, though, he made no mention of Man Utd, who will certainly be in the market for a young-ish centre-back in the upcoming window.
Plettenberg, echoing the earlier report, asserts that Frankfurt will demand at least €60m for the Ecuadorian in the summer and that club officials have already been informed of the interest from the Premier League. As Pacho is still contracted until 2028, Frankfurt are under no pressure to sell for anything below their asking price.
Interestingly, Pacho came through the Independiente del Valle academy, just like Chelsea star Moises Caicedo (and wonderkid Kendry Paez) and Bayer Leverkusen’s Piero Hincapie, both of whom were previously eyed by Liverpool. The Ecuadorian market is clearly one the Reds are keeping close tabs on.
