Liverpool consider January move for Hannover 96 midfielder Leonardo Bittencourt

Liverpool are considering a move in signing Hannover 96 midfielder Leonardo Bittencourt, according to talkSPORT.

The 21-year-old left Borussia Dortmund and made a switch to HDI-Arena in 2013 and has been a regular figure for Tayfun Korkut's side since then. This season he has made 16 league appearances where he has scored one goal and managed two assists.

Bittencourt has been one of the key players for Hannover in helping them sit in the top half of the table. The Reds have scouted the midfielder on several occasions and they have given glowing reports of his performance.

Brendan Rodgers has already added Emre Can in the summer. The Northern Irishman is hoping to add Can's compatriot and the German U21 midfielder to the Liverpool squad in the ongoing transfer window.

Any move from the Merseyside club in signing Bittencourt will not be an easy task. The midfielder's former club Dortmund have a buy-back option, if Hannover decides to let their player leave the club this month.

It should be seen whether Jurgen Klopp's side will block the Premier League club's move, if Liverpool decide to sign Bittencourt this month.

The German midfielder's contract at Hannover runs down in 2017 and his agent Wassily Krastanas has admitted that he is not surprised by the growing interest from clubs for his client's services.

"For specific inquiries, I do not want to say anything at this stage. But there is generally a great interest in young players with potential. Therefore, it is not surprising that a recent U21 international is attracting interest from various clubs," Krastanas told German newspaper Bild.

Meanwhile, Liverpool keeper Simon Mignolet has urged his teammates to use the Capital One Cup disappointment to achieve success in the other competitions they are part of this season.

The Reds were knocked out by Chelsea in the semifinal of the Capital One Cup as the Blues won the two-legged tie 2-1 on aggregate.

"Everybody is disappointed when you go out of a competition that you want to win, and especially with the effort and performances that we put in over the two legs," Mignolet told Liverpool's official website.

"We definitely deserved more than we got. But we have to accept it and move on, and make sure that we go again in the other competitions that we're still playing in."