Barcelona prepare fourth Coutinho bid
As per reports from Sky Sports sources today, Barcelona are prepared to make a fourth and final bid for Philippe Coutinho because they feel "obliged" by his transfer request. The scenario is on a knife edge at the moment with the player clearly seeking a move to Spain but Liverpool are determined to keep him at Anfield.
The bid is believed to be around €150 million, with €110 million upfront and €40 million in add-ons, as reported by renowned journalist Guillem Balague today. The situation with Coutinho remains uncertain currently with Liverpool clearly sticking to their "definitive" stance that he is not for sale. We will have more updates on this to come.
Jurgen Klopp hints at more transfers
After qualifying for the Champions League, Jurgen Klopp spoke to media regarding potential transfers and hinted at more business being done by Liverpool before the end of the transfer window on 31st August.
Speaking with the media after Liverpool's win over Hoffenheim, Klopp said, "It's [Champions League qualification] a big influence on the transfer market, especially if we do it more often. I said I think before the game, if you talk to a player, they really often [mention it]... especially players we talk to. We don't have to talk to players which are not better than our players because it's difficult to find.
"I know a few people think differently, but we do a lot of work and it's not that easy to find 20 players in this position that are better, 20 players in that position that are better. But if you talk to them, they say if you would play in the Champions League, it would be really interesting because the club is great, the manager is not too bad and all that stuff," he concluded.
Liverpool still targeting Renato Sanches
According to reports from Germany and media outlet Kicker, Liverpool are still in contention to sign Renato Sanches from Bayern Munich. The Bundesliga champions have deemed the Portuguese youngster surplus to requirements and have offered him to clubs but they have not received any concrete bids.
Liverpool continue to be linked to the youngster and could submit a bid for him given they'll be a part of the UEFA Champions League now.
Reds still in contention for Schalke's Leon Goretzka
Liverpool could still be in contention to sign one of their targets, namely Leon Goretzka, from Schalke. Sky Sports report that the Bundesliga club do not want to risk losing Goretzka on a free transfer next season as he is in the last year of his contract currently and have offered him to clubs for sale to cash in.
The Reds could move for the German midfielder before the transfer window slams shut but face competition from Barcelona who have also been offered the player by Schalke as per reports from Mundo Deportivo in Spain.