Alex Teixeira to Liverpool: Shakhtar forward 'pulls up with hamstring injury' hours after Reds' £24.6m bid

The Ukrainian club, in Orlando for the Florida Cup, reportedly value Teixeira at over £30m but the Reds are confident they can negotiate the fee down

Alex Teixeira (Getty)

Shakhtar Donetsk forward Alex Teixeira has reportedly pulled up with a hamstring injury in training – just hours after Liverpool made an audacious £24.6m offer for the Brazilian.

Ian Ayre, the Reds’ chief executive, has flown out to the United States of America to clinch a deal which would see the Merseyside club dramatically sidestep Chelsea in the transfer market.

But a potential spanner was hurled into the works this afternoon as a host of journalists suggested the 26-year-old, who has 22 goals in just 15 appearances this season, picked up an injury during training in the US.

The Ukrainian club, in Orlando for the Florida Cup, reportedly value Teixeira at over £30m but the Reds are confident they can negotiate the fee down.

According to Russian journalist Artur Petrosyan, the powerful forward pulled up this morning before Ayre boarded his transatlantic flight.

The Reds have an unenviable track record of locking horns with their Premier League foes in the pursuit of exciting talent.

Willian elected to join the Blues, for £30m, from under Brendan Rodgers’ nose in 2013 before Alexis Sanchez chose Arsenal over a move to Anfield 12 months later.

Liverpool have also struggled dealing with Ukrainian clubs - missing out on Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Yevhen Konoplyanka - who joined Borussia Dortmund and Sevilla from Shakhtar and Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk respectively.