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Liverpool transfer news latest: Marco Asensio, Ousmane Dembele, Divock Origi, Dejan Lovren, Xherdan Shaqiri

The Reds are keen to add to his Champions League-winning squad

Jack Watson
Tuesday 09 July 2019 14:26 BST
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Liverpool victory bus greets thousands of fans in city centre

Divock Origi is close to signing a four-year deal at Liverpool after his Champions League heroics last season.

He will commit his future to the club by signing a four-year extension, with Daniel Sturridge’s departure set to hand him a more prominent role as the back-up to Mohamed Salah, Roberto Firmino and Sadio Mane.

Liverpool are said to be ready to throw everything at Real Madrid in an effort to sign Marco Asensio, reports El Desmarque.

The Real Madrid forward has long been linked with a move to Anfield and it would take a bid in the region of £75m to even tempt Real Madrid into selling him, although Zinedine Zidane may get involved and urge the club to keep hold of him unless Sadio Mane comes the other way.

AC Milan remain in discussions with Liverpool about the availability of defender Dejan Lovren, according to Tuttosport.

Liverpool have been in frequent communication with the Serie A club with Lovren willing to leave, but he will not force a deal. Jurgen Klopp is continuing to preparing for next season with Lovren in the squad. Liverpool are not willing to give in to AC Milan's attempts to reduce the £25m asking price.

The club may be tempted to dip into the transfer market to bolster their attacking midfield options after Jurgen Klopp revealed Xheradan Shaqiri will be out for "a while".

The Reds struggled in creative areas last season, with injuries to Shaqiri and Adam Lallana reducing the number of scoring chances in games they drew in the middle of the season that ultimately cost them the title.

Ousmane Dembele has made it clear to Barcelona that he is determined to stay and prove to the Spanish champions he can become a key player for the first team after he returned to training a week early.

Divock Origi is likely to sign a deal to extend his stay at Anfield (REUTERS)

Liverpool have long been linked with a move for the French wingers, but he is not letting speculation prevent him from preparing for his third season with the Catalan club.

Liverpool have won the race for highly-rated Fulham youngster Harvey Elliott.

The 16-year-old right-winger became the youngest Premier League player in history last season with the Cottagers.

And the Reds have beaten off competition from Barcelona, Real Madrid, RB Leipzig and Paris Saint-Germain for his signature, according to multiple reports in the English media.

Elliott is set to move to Liverpool (Getty)

The move lands Jurgen Klopp one of England’s premier talents as they bid to secure their future as well as their current success.

The England Under-17 international had five goals and four assists in the Under-18 Premier League last term, eventually making two senior appearances before the Cottagers suffered relegation to the Championship.

Klopp, meanwhile, could look to take over from Joachim Low, should the opportunity arise.

The Reds boss’ agent Marc Kosicke admits Die Mannschaft is the one job that could tempt him away.

“Jurgen himself once said that in the event that Joachim Low someday no longer wants to be the national coach – and it would be possible for him do that – this is an option for him,” Kosicke told Welt.

Mauro Icardi could be pushing for a move to Liverpool this summer after Inter Milan made it clear the Argentinian was no longer in their plans.

The controversial 26-year-old endured a turbulent season with Inter and was stripped of the captaincy and refused to play after his wife publicly criticised the way the club is managed.

According to 90min, Icardi is keen to move to a top-six Premier League club and came close to joining the Champions League winners on deadline day in January 2015. However, Jurgen Klopp is thought to be unlikely to want to bring such a disruptive presence into a squad that he has harvested such a strong sense of togetherness.

Liverpool have dropped out of the race to sign Sporting’s Bruno Fernandes with Manchester United now clear frontrunners in the race for the Portuguese international’s signature.

Fernandes’ agent has met with representatives of United, Liverpool and Tottenham but no club has agreed a fee with Sporting yet.

The Reds look set to miss out on Real Madrid midfielder Dani Ceballos, with Tottenham now in pole position to secure the 22-year-old’s signature.

Liverpool are considering a move for Dani Ceballos (Getty)

Ceballos is keen to leave the Bernabeu to play more regular football and has attracted plenty of interest from the Premier League with Arsenal also in the running.

One report in Spain suggests Real Madrid would be happy to sell Ceballos for around £50m but would insist on a buy-back clause of around £70m just in case he should fulfil his potential.

According to Muchodeportivo, Liverpool also have their eye on Real Betis defender and Barcelona target Junior Firpo.

Firpo was also part of that victorious Spanish European U21 Championship-winning side this summer and is said to be available for around £25m. The report claims Liverpool are considering offering a swap deal with Champions League hero Divock Origi, though claims of a new deal for the Belgian suggest that appears unlikely.

Lille’s Nicolas Pepe is wanted by Manchester United and Liverpool this summer (AFP/Getty)

Meanwhile, the club have moved closer to buying Lille’s Nicolas Pepe after the president admitted he has begun talks with the Anfield club, adding that another side is also interested in attracting the forward.

And the former Manchester United midfielder Kleberson has said Dani Alves would be the ideal signing for Liverpool. Alves is currently a free agent after leaving PSG.

“I feel maybe could fit in well at Liverpool and Klopp would like him as a style of player,” said Kleberson. “He’s very technical, fast and has an incredible temperament in the big games. He’s a winner.”

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