Confederations Cup: SPAIN 2 URUGUAY 1

Liverpool are believed to be closing in of the signing of Sunderland goalkeeper Simon Mignolet, plunging the future of Pepe Reina at Anfield into serious doubt.

A deal for the Belgian international could go through as early as this week, with a fee believed to be in the £10 million region. Should he make the trip south to Liverpool, the likelihood that either Mignolet or Reina would be comfortable sitting on the bench is hugely unlikely, with recent reports linking Reina with a move back to Spain.

Barcelona were considered to be interested in his services with the seemingly impending departure of current goalkeeper Victor Valdes, but Valdes has recent announced that he will complete his final year on his contract with the La Liga champions before leaving after next season.

Sunderland, though, will not be keen to sell Mignolet, who was their Player of the Year in the 2012/13 season.

But the 25-year-old, who has also been linked with Arsenal, has only two years remaining on his contract and Sunderland will know his value will decrease as time drags on.

This story has been reproduced from the media. It does not necessarily represent the position of Liverpool Football Club or Red's Fury™ blog.

Liverpool are preparing for a double raid on Spanish Primera Liga side, Sevilla. Sevilla midfielder Ivan Rakitic has admitted he is flattered to be linked with a move to Liverpool.

Luis Alberto, 20, has been linked with a move to the Reds for some time and last week spoke of his imminent arrival at Anfield, saying he’d be “foolish” to turn down the Reds’ offer.

Alberto spent last season on loan at Barcelona B, scoring 11 times in 37 appearances.

Sevilla were keen to keep hold of their exciting young prospect but are now believed to be willing to do business as long as the Reds agree to some supplementary add-ons that could eventually take the deal up to £8million.

Meanwhile, the Croatia international is reportedly attracting interest from Anfield and he has now reiterated his stance that he will only stay with the La Liga side if they bolster their squad.

"I'm really flattered that I'm being linked with such a big club like Liverpool," Rakitic told 24sata.

"I heard that something is happening, but for now there is no concrete offer.

"My brother, who is taking care of my career, is doing all the business about my future.

"But I will repeat what I said before: I will only stay at Sevilla if they will strengthen the team.

"I made it quite clear about that and they know that they have to buy some good players."

25-year-old Rakitic has previous playing experience for Basel in Switzerland and Schalke in Germany.

He has made 53 appearances for his country, scoring 9 international goals.

Source: FoxSports

This story has been reproduced from the media. It does not necessarily represent the position of Liverpool Football Club or Red's Fury™ blog.

According to The Guardian, Liverpool are close to completing their second signing of the summer after Iago Aspas arrived on Merseyside to finalise his £7.7m move from Celta Vigo. The 25-year-old forward travelled to Liverpool on Monday, having cancelled a holiday to the Caribbean once he became aware of interest from Anfield, and will undergo a medical on Tuesday before sealing the transfer from his boyhood club.

Aspas, 25, was tracked by Rodgers throughout last season and he initially intended his purchase to complement rather than replace Suárez.

With Suárez’s future looking increasingly to be away from Anfield and Daniel Sturridge fighting to be fit for the start of the season, Rodgers will have to find further striking recruits in the next few months.

Suárez’s public flirtation with Madrid has continued as he has spoken of the attraction of playing alongside Cristiano Ronaldo.

Aspas can operate across the front line and scored 12 goals in Celta's return to the top flight last season following five years in the second division. He had offers from Valencia, Portuguese and Italian teams plus Swansea City, whose failure to conclude the deal has added to Michael Laudrup's frustrations at the Liberty Stadium, but cleared the way for a move to Liverpool after settling a contractual issue with Celta Vigo.

Source: The Guardian

This story has been reproduced from the media. It does not necessarily represent the position of Liverpool Football Club or Red's Fury™ blog.

Liverpool have placed a €14million price tag on its central defender, Slovakian international, Martin Skrtel as manager Brendan Roders looks to trim their squad of underperformers this summer.

Reports have widely been speculating that Napoli are interested in signing Skrtel, with incoming manager Rafael Benitez seeing the 28-year-old as a solid defender who can offer continuity to the Serie A side's backline.

This is despite a below par season for Liverpool in which Skrtel ended up losing his place to Jamie Carragher in the second half of the season.

With Brendan Rodgers already acquiring Kolo Toure, Skrtel, could team up again with Rafa Benitez, who brought the defender to England five years ago.

"It is too easy to say, but if there is contact from the Blues then we will begin to evaluate it," Skrtel's agent Karol Csonto told Italian paper Tutto Mercato.

"Napoli are a great club and Benitez is a great coach, but Skrtel is a Liverpool player and for this reason he is already looking to the next season with the Reds."

This story has been reproduced from the media. It does not necessarily represent the position of Liverpool Football Club or Red's Fury™ blog.