Liverpool transfer news: Virgil van Dijk picks Jurgen Klopp

Liverpool transfer news: Mario Gotze hunt on indefinite hold

28 February

Liverpool's hopes of signing Mario Gotze have been put on hold indefinitely, reports Talksport, after the Borussia Dortmund frontman was ordered to take a break from football after it was discovered he was suffering from "metabolic disturbances".

The German club have released a statement in which they explained that the 24-year-old Germany international has "continually suffered with muscular problems" over the last couple of months. Giving no idea of when Gotze might return to action, Dortmund said only that he has been withdrawn "for the time being".

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After an ill-fated and short-lived move to Bayern Munich, Gotze returned to Dortmund and in recent weeks has been linked with a £20m summer move to Anfield and a reunion with Jurgen Klopp. But Talksport says that now "the Reds will be forced to pursue other targets".

And Talksport also bagged an exclusive with Southampton chairman Ralph Krueger, who used his air time to express his confidence that Virgil van Dijk will still be at the club next season.

The Dutch defender has been on the Reds radar for a while, with Manchester City also said to be eyeing up the 25-year-old, but Krueger had this message for his Premier League rivals: "Virgil is committed to us for a long time and we don't see anything but that in our future," he said. "We will be sitting together in a few weeks to look at our summer transfer window and what the plans are."

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Liverpool transfer news: Adam Lallana signs three-year deal

23 February

It is smiles all round at Anfield after the announcement that Adam Lallana has signed a new long-term deal with the Reds.

The 28-year-old midfielder had committed his future to the club by signing new terms, which according to Goal.com will net him "in the region of £110,000 a week" for the next three years.

The official Liverpool website announced the news with a straight face, but Reds manager Jurgen Klopp couldn't conceal his delight at Lallana's decision after reports last month in the Liverpool Echo and elsewhere that he was a target for Paris Saint-Germain.

"Adam is a natural leader and is so, so important within our team and also in the dressing room," he said. "What I think is most exciting about this news is that this player is only just arriving at his peak. He has his very best years ahead of him and they will be at LFC."

Lallana was similarly effusive as he penned the new deal, saying: "The best part of this for me is that I feel I can really contribute in these coming years. I feel like I'm playing the best football of my career and I feel fresh and ready to perform at this level for a long period of time."

And according to The Sun there are other reasons for the Reds to be cheerful with the paper claiming they have been "handed a major boot" in their pursuit of Joe Hart.

Apparently Manchester City are ready to sell the England gloveman for £20m at the end of the season and, in addition, Pep Guardiola is no longer insisting that Hart should not be sold to a Premier League rival.

Currently on loan at Italian outfit Torino, the 29-year-old keeper has been linked to Chelsea and Arsenal in recent months but the Sun says Klopp is determined to sign Hart and has made him "one of his major summer transfer targets".

Liverpool transfer news: Raid on West Ham for Pedro Obiang

22 February

West Ham will need be on their guard this summer, claims the Daily Express, with the paper reporting that Jurgen Klopp is plotting a "shock move" for the Hammers midfielder Pedro Obiang.

The 24-year-old has been one of the few players to perform with any consistency during a miserable season for the east London outfit and the Express says that his displays "have not gone unnoticed" by Klopp. The Liverpool gaffer is keeping tabs on the Spanish playmaker and an offer is pending after the German received good reports from his scouts about Obiang.

According to the Express Klopp is planning "a huge overhaul" of his squad in the summer after their title challenge imploded in January. In particular Klopp is determined to strengthen his midfield and he's ready to offer the Hammers £18m in return for Obiang, who arrived at the club from Italian side Sampdoria in 2015.

But the Express says that the Reds will have to move fast to land Obiang with West Ham anxious to open contract talks over a new deal "in a bid to ward off interest from an increasing number of admirers".

Liverpool transfer news: Klopp wants Mario Gotze reunion

20 February

With the Reds having a rest over the weekend after their FA Cup exit earlier in the month, it seems that Jurgen Klopp has been using the time wisely and is preparing a "summer move" for Borussia Dortmund's World Cup winner Mario Gotze, according to the Sunday Mirror.

Klopp is all too familiar with the attacking midfielder having brought him through at the German club during his time in charge, and he now believes the time has come to re-establish the partnership.

According to the Mirror "initial talks about an end-of-season switch are understood to have taken place " and the 24-year-old is said to be open to the idea of moving to Anfield.

Klopp sounded out Gotze about a move last summer when he decided to leave Bayern Munich but instead the playmaker opted to return to Dortmund. That hasn't gone as well as he'd hoped, as the midfielder has failed to impress current manager Thomas Tuchel.

Klopp is now more determined than ever to land Gotze, who he believes would be a perfect fit in the Liverpool set-up. As for the likely fee, the Mirror reports that Dortmund paid £20m to bring Gotze back from Bayern and are adamant that they must recoup as much of that money as possible.

Liverpool transfer news: Shock move for Chelsea starlet Solanke

17 February

He is described by The Sun as "one of the biggest talents in the country", but Chelsea and England Under-21 international Dominic Solanke could be set to join Liverpool in "a stunning summer switch".

Admittedly, the tabloid spends a lot of its time being stunned but it is a shock that the Blues have failed to offer the striker a suitable new deal, leaving the door open to a move to Anfield.

The Sun says that Celtic are also interested in Solanke, who was called up to the England squad two years ago by then manager Roy Hodgson, but his preferred choice is Merseyside. Apparently Jurgen Klopp is a big fan of Solanke's and the Reds will probably have to pay the Blues £8m in compensation "as the teenager's fee will go to a tribunal."

Meanwhile the Liverpool Echo warns that "Juventus could become a big problem for Liverpool and Jurgen Klopp this summer".

The paper reports that the Italian side are keen on Reds midfielder Emre Can, and are also in the market for long-term Liverpool target Mahmoud Dahoud.

Liverpool transfer news: Klopp monitors defender Navarro

16 February

Liverpool's leaky defence has already cost them the chance to win the Premier League title this season so it's no surprise to find the Daily Express linking promising defender Marc Navarro with a summer move to Anfield.

The paper, citing Spanish rag Mundo Deportivo, says that the Espanyol right-back is being monitored by Liverpool gaffer Jurgen Klopp with a view to a summer swoop.

Valued at £21m, the 21-year-old is regarded as one of the most exciting talents in La Liga having broken into the Espanyol line-up earlier this season. Navarro scored on his debut against Granada and as a result Klopp is "keeping tabs" on the Spaniard who is contracted to his club until 2021. Apparently Espanyol are willing to sell the young blocker but only if their non-negotiable £21m release clause is met.

One player Klopp won't get his hands on, however much he is prepared to pay, is Man City goalkeeper Joe Hart.

England's number one is surplus to requirements under Pep Guardiola and has been farmed out on loan to Torino this season. He will exit the Etihad on a permanent basis this summer, but it looks as though his overseas odyssey will continue, despite the fact that Liverpool are in the market for a reliable keeper.

"City are said to be ready to sell Hart for a cut-price £15m - but won't allow the 29-year-old to move to a Premier League rival," says the Liverpool Echo.

Liverpool transfer news: Malcom in tug of war with Man Utd

14 February

Liverpool and Manchester United are poised for a summer tug-of-war according to The Sun, and it is exotically-named Bordeaux striker Malcom who finds himself in the middle.

The 19-year-old Brazilian "has been scouted by both sides" and although he is under contract with the Ligue 1 club until 2020 it's believed he could be bought for the right amount of money. However, the Sun says any move is contingent on Malcom's suitor qualifying for the Champions League and that could prove problematical for United, who currently lie sixth. Liverpool, on the other hand, are in fourth and having got back to winning ways at the weekend with a 2-0 defeat of Tottenham, Jurgen Klopp is cautiously optimistic he'll win the race to the hand of Malcolm.

Elsewhere and the Daily Express claims that Liverpool and Celtic "look set to miss out" on Nigerian hotshot Henry Onyekuru. Why? Because the tabloid says that Sevilla are poised to poach the 19-year-old sensation from under the noses of the Reds, luring him from Belgian side KAS Eupen with promises of riches in Spain.

The left-sided playmaker was mooted as a Liverpool target last month but according to Spanish newspaper Estadio Deportivo, Sevilla have been stalking Onyekuru for several weeks and are confident of signing the player who has scored 11 goals in 24 appearances this season.

Liverpool transfer news: Ramirez vs Lallana in midfield?

9 February

With Liverpool's chances of the league title gone for another year, manager Jurgen Klopp has already started planning for next season and, according to the Daily Express, Middlesbrough midfielder Gaston Ramirez is near the top of his summer shopping list.

Describing the news as a "shock", the tabloid says that the Uruguay international handed in a transfer request last month and was close to a move to Leicester before the transfer window shut. Boro boss Aitor Karanka refused to countenance the South American's departure but the Express says he could be tempted to sell in the summer if a lucrative offer is put forward.

Italian website Tuttomercato believes Klopp will do just that with the Reds manager desperate to add more creativity in the centre of the park.

However, Ramirez will have plenty of competition at Anfield if he does make the move. The Liverpool Echo reports that Adam Lallana, a player who would be in direct competition with Ramirez, is poised to pen a new deal.

"Lallana has blossomed under the guidance of Jurgen Klopp over the past 16 months and the Liverpool boss was keen to ensure the club rewarded his progress with a lucrative extension," says the paper "His current deal runs until 2019 but the new contract will keep him at Anfield until the summer of 2021."

How highly is Lallana valued at Anfield? Pretty highly claims the Daily Mail, which says the new deal will be worth £150,000 a week.

Meanwhile rumours that Liverpool are after Borussia Dortmund frontman Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang continue to circulate. The Gabon goal-machine played for Klopp when he was manager of the German club and, according to The Guardian, "Liverpool are confident that the appeal of working for Klopp again will prove a bigger pull for the striker than anything Manchester City have to offer".

It is believed an offer of £40m is in the pipeline.