Will £62m be enough to land Alisson?
Liverpool have made an eye-watering £62.2m bid for Alisson, according to numerous reports in the British media.
The Liverpool Echo reports that Reds boss Jurgen Klopp “simply couldn’t wait any longer” and risk seeing the Brazilian snapped up by a European rival, and so the Liverpool board has sanctioned the move for the 25-year-old Roma keeper.
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According to the Echo, Liverpool have “received sufficient encouragement from Alisson and his representatives” that the player was open to a switch to Anfield and that prompted the club to table the bid with the Italian outfit.
The Echo adds that speculation began to mount when the player’s agent, Ze Maria Neis, “liked a photoshopped image of Alisson wearing a Liverpool shirt on Instagram”.
BBC Sport says that Klopp has been forced to make his move after Loris Karius – still struggling to recover from his Champions League final nightmare – produced another cack-handed display, this time in a pre-season friendly against Tranmere last week.
With fans’ anger at Karius reaching breaking point, Klopp has decided to swoop for Alisson, but the BBC claims that the potential world-record fee for a goalkeeper of £62m might not be accepted. The broadcaster says that Roma are “considering the bid but no deal has been agreed and the Italian side are said to want £66m”.
That will be music to the ears of Chelsea, says the Daily Mirror, which claims the Blues are poised to “gazump” Liverpool by offering Roma £70m for Alisson.
Real Madrid have apparently held talks with Chelsea about a move for their goalkeeper, Thibaut Courtois, and Mirror says that “the Blues are willing to sell this summer rather than risk losing him on a free in 12 months’ time”. They’ll use the money made on offloading Courtois to Real to meet Roma’s asking price, and then some.
Reds join Bernard chase
Another Brazil international in Liverpool’s sights is midfielder Bernard, who is also wanted by Arsenal and Everton.
The 25-year-old has reportedly rejected offers from Italy because he has his heart set on a move to the Premier League, reports the Daily Mirror. And the good news from Liverpool’s point of view is that they won’t need to pay a fee for the player.
“The winger is a free agent following the expiration of his contract with Ukrainian side Shakhtar Donetsk and is reportedly keen to move to the Premier League,” says the paper.
Sturridge wants to stay
Forgotten striker Daniel Sturridge has vowed to win back his place in the Liverpool side after returning from an unsuccessful loan period at West Brom.
The 28-year-old former England frontman was expected to leave the club after being frozen out at Anfield last season and then made just six appearances after heading to West Brom on loan.
However, Sturridge is now back and is “determined to make a fresh start having featured in pre-season friendlies against Chester, Tranmere Rovers and Bury”, reports the Daily Mail.
“Klopp opened the door for Sturridge to return to the side, saying after Saturday's goalless draw at Bury that no member of his squad was being ruled out.”
