Liverpool Bid £7.7m for Italian Midfielder After Missing Out on Shakhtar Star – Report

Liverpool have made an offer of £7.7m for Hellas Verona midfielder Jorginho after seemingly missing out on Shakhtar Donetsk's Henrikh Mkhitaryan who is close to joining German giants Borussia Dortmund.

The creative midfielder played a vital role in helping Verona earn promotion to Serie A last season and it appears as though his performances have been brought to the attention of Liverpool boss Brendan Rodgers.

Despite having already completed deals for four players this summer, it is believed that Rodgers is keen to further bolster his options and was interested in trying to sign Armenia international Mkhitaryan.

However, the latest reports suggest that the prolific midfielder in on the verge of joining Dortmund in a deal worth close to £25m. This has forced Rodgers to look elsewhere and it appears as though Jorginho is now the top target.

The 21 year old would certainly fit the current transfer policy of the Merseyside club who are investing heavily in young talent that can continue to develop and offer potential resale value down the line.

New signing Luis Alberto is a prime example as the 20 year old Spanish winger had spent last season on-loan at Barcelona B playing in the Segunda division, but is expected to develop at Melwood and quickly push for regular first team action.

Jorginho similarly impressed while playing in the second division of Italian football and, according to a report in Football Italia, Liverpool have now made an initial offer of £7.7m.

Despite being born in Brazil, Jorginho has spent much of his life in Italy and has decided to represent the Azzuri at international level.

He has already won his first cap for Italy at Under-21 level and last season played some 41 times for Verona as they secured a second place finish and automatic promotion to Serie A.

Jorginho has a contract until the summer of 2016 but Verona may well decide that Liverpool's offer is simply too good to turn down as they attempt to build a squad capable of remaining in the Italian top flight.