Allan from Brazil: Liverpool repeat history but hopes are much higher over new €35m deal | OneFootball

Liverpool sign Allan (the first time)

Liverpool signed Allan Rodrigues de Souza from Internacional back in 2015. He was essentially the final signing of the Brendan Rodgers era and spent the previous summer on trail with the Reds.

He impressed enough that a deal was pushed through for around £500k. The problem was that Allan had absolutely no profile as a relatively unknown youngster from Brazil and that made getting a work-permit impossible.

And so he was immediately loaned out as Liverpool hoped he'd later acquire one. First he went to Finland, then to Belgium, then to Germany.

Allan had played for three clubs in three different countries by the time 2017 rolled around. Jurgen Klopp, who didn't even know about the Brazilian when he joined Liverpool in 2015, was eager to get him in the squad.

"I saw him in training and I thought ‘oh my God, what can we do to keep this boy here and bring him into the line-up?’," said Klopp in 2016, per the Mirror. "He’s 19 years old, an outstanding talent, a good player with a good attitude, everybody loves him, he’s a nice lad – so that’s really, really good. He's a smart player.

"There is no chance [to play him] in this moment here because he can’t get the permission to play here, so we have to send him out on loan.

"We sent him to Belgium and he did well, really well until now. We had no doubts about this, it was a good transfer for both sides."

Unfortunately, Allan would never actually get that work-permit. He was simply unable to boost his profile enough, with loan spells at Hertha BSC and Eintracht Frankfurt not delivering enough games. He joined Atletico Mineiro in 2019 and remains in Brazil.

So why would things be different with the new Allan? Essentially, the fee is large enough to prove that he's a big enough prospect. Liverpool would need to pay around €35m to get him and that, in the eyes of those dishing out work-permits, demonstrates an elite talent.

The OG Allan never had that, given he joined as a youth player for a small fee. This time around, there shouldn't be any problems and the 2026 Allan could slot straight into the first-team.