It hardly needed reinforcing, but Lucas Leiva‘s importance to Liverpool was underlined yet again on Tuesday when the Brazilian played a vital role in the Reds’ 1-1 draw with Chelsea—a match they dominated from start to finish.

Throughout the first leg of the Capital One Cup semi-final, Lucas moved the ball efficiently and helped absorb the occasional Chelsea pressure, which, due in no small part to his efforts, was typically turned into another spell of Liverpool buildup play.

He touched the ball 102 times at Anfield, as per WhoScored, completed 88 percent of his passes and threw himself into an eye-popping seven tackles.

And yet, as reported by ESPN FC on Monday, the 28-year-old is said to feel “undervalued” at the Premier League outfit and is intrigued by the prospect of a move to Inter Milan—possibly before the end of the January transfer period.

The admiration, not surprisingly, is mutual.

According to La Gazzetta dello Sport (and relayed by Inside Futbol), the Nerazzurri have already tabled a €10 million bid for Lucas—around the same amount, not coincidentally, they were willing to pay for Atletico Madrid‘s Mario Suarez, per the aforementioned sources.

 

But Atletico, says Marca, are loath to lose the midfielder, and showdown talks between the two sides are scheduled for Thursday. If Suarez agrees to stay at Estadio Vicente Calderon, it follows Inter will intensify their pursuit of Lucas, who has so far started just 11 Premier League matches this season.

And last term, despite recovering from a ligament injury in February, he made just three starts down the stretch as Liverpool pursued their first title since 1990.

Inter, for their part, have been one of the more active players in the current transfer period and have already brought Lukas Podolski and Xherdan Shaqiri into the club this month. They’re presently six points back of Lazio and Serie A’s Europa League positions, and with Fredy Guarin and Gary Medel seeing plenty of time in the centre of the park, it’s likely manager Roberto Mancini wouldn’t mind additional depth in the position.

Lucas would represent an upgrade on both players.

A tough tackler with aerial strength who can lend a hand when the ball is worked forward from the back, he is also a good reader of the game and so far this season has averaged two interceptions per appearance, according to Squawka.

Which is why Liverpool would be foolish to let him go.

As Metro revealed earlier this week, the Reds have been decidedly more successful when Lucas is in the lineup. With him they’ve managed to take 75 percent of available points as opposed to just 33 percent in his absence.

It’s the most basic of metrics, and if they lose him to what is a fascinating Inter project, it will only be because they didn’t properly rate what he offered.

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