Napoli wants £61million from Liverpool for their Polish midfielder

Liverpool and Tottenham have both reportedly stepped up their interest in Napoli midfielder Piotr Zielinski.

Jurgen Klopp intends to beef up his Liverpool squad, as they gear up for Champions League football, providing they win their play-off match first.

A midfielder has been identified as a priority, and Zielinski is a long-standing target.

Tottenham, similarly, are exploring the market for midfield options, with Mauricio Pochettino looking to build on their fabulous campaign last term as they finished runners-up to Chelsea in the Premier League.

And, with Christian Eriksen on Barcelona's radar, the need for an attacking midfielder could be greater for the north London outfit.

Recent reports suggested Real Madrid were considering a move for Zielinski, with Zinedine Zidane an admirer.

But according to Italian paper Il Mattino, Liverpool and Tottenham have both lodged £25million bids for the 23-year-old.

The report says Napoli could reject these bids as the club think he is worth his £61m buyout clause.

Last September, Zielinski admitted he held talks with Klopp before rejecting a move.

He said: “There were days when I was walking out of home, looked into my mobile and I didn’t know what to do.

"I spoke a lot with Konrad Golos and Tomasz Dawidowski – my managers from the agency representing me.

"Everyone said: ‘Great offer, Klopp wants you, it’s a fairytale in terms of finances’. All fine, but I wasn’t convinced.

“I was driving my car and I said to my girlfriend: ‘No, red light, I’m not leaving’.

“I felt great in Empoli, I didn’t want to leave the lads when we were battling for the European places.”

Source: Daily Express

Image credits to Marco Bertorello/AFP/Getty Images.

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Audi Cup 2017: Napoli, Bayern Munich, Atletico Madrid and Liverpool

SSC Napoli have been confirmed as the fourth team that will compete in the Audi Cup this summer, joining Liverpool, Bayern Munich and Atletico Madrid.

The tournament, which will be held at Allianz Arena on August 1 and 2, will see the Reds tackle hosts Bayern in their opening game.

Napoli will take on Atletico in the day’s earlier clash, with the winners of those matches meeting in the following evening’s final, while the losers will go head-to-head in the third/fourth-place play-off.

Advance sales for the pre-season showdown between four European heavyweights have already begun, and tickets are highly coveted. In 2015, Allianz Arena was sold out for the tournament, with 140,000 spectators attending across both days.

Tickets are available at www.audicup.com, with day tickets starting at 20 Euros.

The Audi Cup premiered in summer 2009 on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the Audi brand. Since then, the tournament has been held every two years. Bayern Munich have won it three times, while Barcelona were victorious in 2011.

Source: Liverpool FC Official

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Liverpool link with Porto left-back

Liverpool have been linked with another left back with Porto's Rafa Soares the latest man in the frame.

Strengthening a position where James Milner filled in impressively last year is on the wish list at Anfield this season with Fulham's Ryan Sessegnon originally high on the list of possibles.

But with the 17-year-old expected to stay in London, with a switch to Spurs favoured, the Reds have had to cast their net further afield.

Soares has spoken highly of Liverpool although he is also hopeful of making a break through at Porto, where he has not made a first team appearance yet.

Instead he spent last year on loan at Rio Ave, whom he helped to a seventh placed finish in Portugal's Primeira Liga, making 32 league appearances and 38 in total. He also collected three goals and five assists.

The 22-year-old came through the youth system at Porto, is a Portuguese youth international and also spent time on loan at second tier Coimbra at the start of 2016.

"I know I've been followed by English clubs especially after our campaign," Soares told Omnisport.

"Liverpool are a great club and to be linked is an enormous honour for me. I followed Liverpool from a young age and I shiver every time I listen to You'll Never Walk Alone, it's unique!

"Liverpool are famous and popular in Portugal where people value the history of a club. I'm naturally flattered, but I'm a Porto player and focused on succeeding here."

Soares also spoke about his desire to impress new Porto coach Sergio Conceicao who took over in June.

"My main goal is to establish myself and get first-team football. I feel ready and confident that after my last season I will be given a chance.

"I keep my feet on the ground and focus on climbing my way up one step at a time. Fans support and trust me to become a symbol of the club, as I have been here for over 10 years and feel Porto in my bones.

"In 2015-16 it was rumoured Conceicao wanted me to join him in Vitoria Guimaraes – where he was coach at the time – which may mean he trusts and believes in me."

Porto though recently became the only club to be punished by UEFA for a breach of Financial Fair Play rules this year.

The club, runners-up to Benfica in the league and knocked out of the Champions League by Juventus in the last 16, agreed a four-year settlement deal which includes a 700,000 euros fine (possibly rising to 2.2m euros) and a restriction on their Champions League squad from next season.

Source: Liverpool Echo

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Liverpool and Chelsea to battle for Porto starlet

Liverpool and Chelsea will face off for Porto midfielder Ruben Neves, according to A Bola in Portugal.

Neves, 20, has already skippered his club and is one of the most highly-rated youngsters in Europe.

His deal has just two years remaining contains a buyout clause of €40million and according to the Portuguese outlet, he is already intimating that he wants to follow Andre Silva through the exit door.

Neves is currently on Under-21 duty with Portugal and both Chelsea and Liverpool are said to be keen on bringing him to the Premier League.

Porto are demanding a fee of around £30million for the highly-rated youngster, however, so a summer deal for Antonio Conte or Jurgen Klopp will not come cheap.

Both Manchester United and Arsenal expressed a strong interest in Neves last year but a move to England never materialised.

Any developments on his future are likely to be on hold for the coming weeks with Neves on international duty with Portugal's Under-21s.

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

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Derby agree fee for Liverpool defender

Derby have agreed a fee to sign Andre Wisdom from Liverpool that could rise to £4.5m, Sky sources understand.

The Rams will pay more than £2m up front for the 24-year-old, who must now agree personal terms and pass a medical.

Derby saw an initial offer of £2m rejected earlier on Tuesday before talks continued.

Wisdom, who spent last season on loan at RB Salzburg in Austria, enjoyed a season on loan at Derby four years ago and he is keen to return, with Gary Rowett a key factor in that decision.

His former club Bradford are also due to benefit from the deal, as they agreed a 10 per cent sell on fee when Wisdom initially moved to Liverpool as a youngster.

Wisdom is set to become Derby's second signing of the summer following the transfer of Curtis Davies from Hull City.

Wisdom, who won an Austrian league and cup double with Salzburg, has not made a first-team appearance for Liverpool since featuring against Swansea City in September 2013.

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Liverpool target prefer Champions League team

Kylian Mbappe has revealed he is more "obsessed" with winning the Champions League than the Ballon d'Or.

The 18-year-old forward helped steer Monaco to the Champions League semi-finals in the 2016/17 season, attracting attention from Manchester United, who qualified for next season's competition after winning the Europa League.

Liverpool have entered the race to sign him, according to national newspapers, while Arsenal are also reportedly interested in a move for the France international, but the club's failure to finish in the Premier League's top four could ultimately cost them in any transfer after Mbappe identified his main goal.

"[The Champions League] is a dream, a competition that everyone wants to win and that only a minority can win - the most important are the titles," Mbappe told Telefoot.

"That would be much more of an obsession for me than the Ballon d'Or, for example. I want to touch the stars and, when you dream, you do not dream of playing the middle of the table or maintaining it."

Mbappe could line up against Premier League defenders on Tuesday night when France take on England in a friendly at the Stade de France.

Despite earning just three caps for France so far, the teenager - who scored 24 goals for Monaco last season - is already setting sights on the 2018 World Cup in Russia.

"[The World Cup] is the number one goal at international level," Mbappe added. "As I always say, dreams are good but it's up to me to work for them."

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

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Liverpool new signing fires Three Lions into Under-20 World Cup finals

Sheyi Ojo helped to create two goals as England reached the FIFA U20 World Cup final for the first time with a 3-1 victory over Italy on Thursday.

The Liverpool winger was brought on as a substitute nine minutes into the second half of the semi-final in South Korea, where Dominic Solanke – who has agreed terms to join the Reds on July 1 – struck the first and third for his country.


England trailed when Ojo entered the action and the 19-year-old had already hit a post before his cross forged a chance for Solanke to equalise from close range.

Another delivery from Ojo led to the second goal for the Young Lions, converted by Ademola Lookman, and Solanke sealed their comeback win in the 88th minute.

Reds midfielder Ovie Ejaria was an unused substitute.

England will now face Venezuela in the tournament’s final on Sunday, to be played at the Suwon World Cup Stadium.

Source: Liverpool FC Official

Video credits to PlayWire & Footytube.

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Liverpool legend backs Klopp to sign Bundesliga star

Liverpool look set to bolster their attacking options this summer.

Liverpool have been linked with Sporting Lisbon's Gelson Martins and Roma wide man Mohamed Salah.

But Nicol's reckons Costa should be a top target.

"I'll take him at Liverpool absolutely," he told ESPN FC.

Jurgen Klopp's shown he can sort out young players so absolutely.

"The guy's got ability, no question. Considering the quality he's got and he's not quite matured yet, I'm sure most coaches think they can turn young players around.

"I think he would be a good signing for Liverpool."

European football expert Raphael Honigstein says the Bundesliga champions will be willing to let him leave the Allianz Arena.

Costa immediately impressed at Bayern Munich having switched from Shakhtar Donetsk in 2015, but has since struggled to nail down a regular starting place under Carlo Ancelotti.

The 26-year-old Brazil international scored seven goals and provided nine assists in all competitions over the past season.

With his speed and versatility, he would certainly fit the bill regarding Klopp's requirements.

German news outlet Bild have stated Liverpool are tracking the £35million-rated Costa, but they're not alone.

Juventus, Manchester City, Manchester United and, inevitably, Tottenham Hotspur are among those also being linked.

Image credits to Getty Images.

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

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