Liverpool are having an excellent summer so far. The Reds are doing their business early and it is always a comforting sign for any club and its manager.
Yesterday, they have secured the signing of Simon Mignolet from Sunderland for £9 million on a long term contract, which could be seen as a master-stroke act from the Reds manager Brendan Rodgers.
The 24-year-old goal keeper was the fourth signing of the season for the Reds while he became the first Belgian to represent the Anfield club.
The signing of Mignolet has put a strong question mark on Pepe Reina’s future, though the Spaniard has insisted that he will stay at the club.
According to reports from The Standard, Premier League rivals Arsenal are monitoring Reina’s situation and have asked to be kept informed of any developments, regarding the availability of the player.
Arsene Wenger tried to sign the Spaniard two seasons ago and it is to be seen whether the Gunners go for him again or not. The Gunners have restructured their wage bill having released a number of highly-paid players including Andrey Arshavin, Denilson and Sebastien Squillaci, so managing £110,000-a-week wages for Reina won’t be a problem for the club anymore.
Liverpool are keen on signing Armenian midfielder Henrikh Mkhitaryan but faces a tough competition from Bundesliga giants Borussia Dortmund.
Rumours circulated that the 24-year-old will undergo a medical at Liverpool which was promptly denied by Shakhtar Donetsk while the saga took a sensational twist yesterday when the player went AWOL and failed to return to the training.
Now, according to reports from The Mirror, Borussia Dortmund are threatening to gazump any Liverpool offer by placing a bid of £19.5 million for the player, which is some way short of the Ukrainian club’s valuation of £25 million.
Shakhtar’s chief executive Sergei Palkin told Terrikon:
“I don’t know where Mkhitaryan is, now; solely his agent knows this. Borussia offered $30m (£19.5m) for the midfielder. I contacted Mkhitaryan’s agent yesterday. I wrote to him about the official position of the club.
“We are prepared to sell Mkhitaryan for €30m (£25m). This offer stands for the next 10 days. If Mkhitaryan wishes to leave, they have to pay this amount for him.”
Moving on to other news, the Reds have registered an interest in Barcelona youngster Gerard Deulofeu and according to Daily Mail, the Reds are keen to land the supremely gifted player on loan.
Meanwhile, Spanish newspaper Marca, that has a close association with Real Madrid, claims that Liverpool striker Luis Suarez has already agreed personal terms with the La Liga giants several weeks ago.
Finally, according to reports from the Birmingham Mail, Aston Villa manager Paul Lambert is thinking of bringing back Stewart Downing at the club and could lodge a £6 million bid for the winger.
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