Liverpool are ready to commit massive funds to take on Manchester United in the race to land the next Brazilian superstar.
Centre-half Dede has been identified as the man the Samba nation will build their team on for the World Cup they are hosting in 2014.
And his club, Vasco da Gama, have confirmed this week he WILL be sold in the summer.
The club from Rio have hit massive financial problems after being pursued by federal tax authorities for unpaid debts, and they have admitted they will be forced to sell to the highest bidder to stave off the threat of liquidation.
That means attempting to get an auction going to realise an asking price of around £15million, with the likes of Liverpool, United, Juventus and Benfica all making enquiries about the 24-year-old.
The Anfield club believe they have stolen a march on their rivals after targeting the 6ft 3in stopper over the past 12 months, and establishing a relationship with the private investment group that owns 55 per cent of the player.
Dede - full name Anderson Vital da Silva - fits the Liverpool profile perfectly, given he is a young international who promises much for the future.
And with boss Brendan Rodgers keen to land at least TWO centre-halves in the summer, they will commit big money to fighting off champions-elect United.
Speaking this week, Vasco director general Cristiano Koehler confirmed a decision has been taken to allow Dede to leave, given the debts the club must address to avoid the threat of bankruptcy.
“We can’t mislead the fans, we will find it very difficult to hold on to Dede because the club needs the resources, and at some point it will happen - by the middle of the year,” the official explained.
“The desire of all is that he stays, but we have to prioritise the payment of wages, taxes and federal agreements, so it is inevitable we will have to sell - so it is possible, in the middle of the year when the sale goes through, we can use the money to restructure the club and make it safe.
“The player is ambitious and he also wants to experience better opportunities with better pay, and the partners in his ownership want to make the agreement now to develop their investment.
"We have a balance sheet we must meet, and we can’t hide the fact.”
Dede, part of the Brazil squad that will play Italy in a friendly on Friday night and Russia next week, has been described as the future of the national side after emerging with Vasco in the past two years.
The defender has won six caps in the past few months, and has been courted by most of Brazil’s top clubs, with his own domestic side struggling to pay their players’ wages as well as that tax bill.
A deal to sell him to Corinthians fell through in January, and another interested club is Fluminese, whose coach Abel Braga admitted an approach for a player he said is “absurdly talented and will certainly be one of Brazil’s stars at the 2014 World Cup”.
But with Vasco facing such daunting debts, they would prefer to sell the defender on the international market, in an attempt to tease the price as high as £15m - a fee none of their domestic rivals would pay.
The situation is complicated by the fact that, like many South American internationals, Dede is part owed by an investment group who bought a stake in him as a youngster.
Vasco only hold 45% of the player’s registration, with another 45% held by the DIS Group - a subsidiary of a Brazilian supermarket chain - and 10% held by the Ability investment group.
Liverpool have made in-roads in their relationship with his investors after watching Dede over the past year.
They also have another card to play, in that they already have two Brazilians in the squad in Lucas Leiva and Philippe Coutinho.
United, of course, have the Da Silva brothers, Rafael and Fabio - who hail from the same area of Rio de Janeiro as Dede - but the player may decide he will have a more immediate first-team opportunity at Liverpool, given the looming retirement of Jamie Carragher.
* LIVERPOOL have confirmed that midfielder Joe Allen will undergo shoulder surgery on Friday to correct an injury that has dogged him all season, and will miss the rest of the campaign.
Club doctor Zaf Iqbal said: “Joe is due to have a left shoulder operation tomorrow morning in Liverpool and will be ready to return to football at the beginning of next season."
