Arsenal hope to derail Sanchez, Suarez Liverpool swap

Today could be D-Day for Luis Suarez and Alexis Sanchez as officials from Barcelona and Liverpool meet in London to talk about the possibility of a move to the Camp Nou.

According to the BBC, the two parties will discuss the 27-year-old Uruguayan nibbler Suarez's desire to move to Spain and also the implications of his four-month ban for biting Italy's Georgio Chiellini at the World Cup. The Beeb says that Liverpool "are likely to accept an offer of £80m" for Suarez, while Barcelona are understood to "want to pay closer to £60m".

If the Reds accepted the lower bid it would still represent a tidy profit considering they paid £22.7m for Suaez when he signed from Ajax in 2011. The BBC adds that the final amount paid may hinge on whether the two clubs can reach an agreement over Alexis Sanchez, the Chilean winger currently with Barcelona who may be used by the club as a sweetner in their pursuit of Suarez.

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Whether or not Sanchez ends up at Anfield, he certainly seems surplus to requirements after Barcelona sporting director, Andoni Zubizarreta, indicated that the player, who was one of the stars of the World Cup, is almost certainly on his way out of the Camp Nou.

Goal.com claims that Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger has "tabled a £32m bid" for the Chile star and will meet Sanchez's agent in Brazil this week to convince the forward that he should move to the Londoners ahead of the other clubs competing for his signature.

Meanwhile the same website also says that the future of Barcelona playmaker Xavi is a bit like an attempt on goal from Wayne Rooney – up in the air. It seems the arrival of Ivan Rakitic from Sevilla has thrown Xavi's future into doubt with Zubizarreta admitting he doesn't know if he'll stay. "We are talking permanently with Xavi... when he comes back from his holidays we'll sit down and we'll talk again."

Over to Real Madrid, who until a few weeks ago seemed favourites to sign Suarez. But it seems the Bernabeu club have missed out on the player and will instead console themselves with a move for Monaco's Radamel Falcao, dashing the hopes of Chelsea, Manchester United and Arsenal.

All three Premier League clubs had their eyes on the 28-year-old striker after learning of his alleged desire to leave Monaco for a club with more clout. But according to the Daily Express, Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti is so miffed at missing out on Suarez that he's lining up a big money bid for Falcao. The Colombian, whose team are doing fine without him at the World Cup, hasn't clicked in Ligue 1 and French sports daily L'Equipe claims that the European champions will make Monaco an offer they can't refuse "either this summer or in the January 2015 transfer window".

Still with Real Madrid, Talksport says that Arsenal are "on alert" after the club transfer listed both Iker Casillas and Diego Lopez. The two goalkeepers are set to be replaced by Costa Rica's Keylor Navas and Kiko Casilla from Espanyol, and the news is sure to interest Wenger, who was first linked with a move for the cack-handed Casillas last season. If he is looking for a replacement for Lukasz Fabianski, then Casillas is surely the man.

Finally, there has not been much surprise at the statement posted on Chelsea's official website on Tuesday afternoon announcing the capture of Diego Costa for Atletico Madrid. The Blues have been chasing the 25-year-old Spain striker for months and the club confirmed "an agreement has been reached" with the Spanish club. According to the BBC Chelsea will pour a cool £32m into the coffers of Atletico for a player whose scored 36 goals in 52 games last season as Atletico won their first La Liga title since 1996.