Liverpool transfer news, rumours, gossip and speculation including updates on Kylian Mbappe, Georginio Wijnaldum, Gleison Bremer, Erling Haaland, Karim Adeyemi, Youri Tielemans, Gavi and Mohamed Salah
Hello and welcome to the Liverpool ECHO Monday recap blog for all your very latest Liverpool news, rumours and transfer gossip.
The ECHO will provide breaking stories, reaction and comment to all the big talking points from Anfield as well as keeping tabs on the transfer market around the world.
Reports from The Athletic claim Mohamed Salah's contract stand-off is about money, respect and recognition while Liverpool are rumoured to be eying a £41.8m move for Barcelona midfielder Gavi.
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Well, well, well! It's all over at Selhurst Park and Manchester City have dropped two points after being held to a goalless draw by Crystal Palace.
In a nervy five minutes of injury time, the hosts even had a late chance to win it via Conor Gallagher, but 0-0 it finished and that means that Liverpool can be just a point behind City with a win at Arsenal on Wendesday evening.
Plenty of twists and turns to come, you suspect, but that is a cracking result for Jurgen Klopp and his team.
Former Liverpool player Jamie Carragher caused a bit of a stir last week when he suggested that Manchester United should swoop for Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel while the West London club are hamstrung by their special operating license implemented by the UK Government.
Speaking on Sky Sports' Monday Night Football, Carragher has revealed that he had some difficult conversations with Chelsea supporters at Stamford Bridge while covering The Blues' narrow victory against Newcastle United yesterday.
But despite ruffling a few feathers with his view on the unusual restrictions imposed on Chelsea as a direct result of Roman Abramovic's links with Vladamir Putin, Carragher stood by every word he said.
See what he had to say about Chelsea and the predicament that they find themselves in HERE.
John Aldridge believes that Mohamed Salah's agent has handled his client's contract situation unprofessionally and it is having an effect on his performances.
Writing in his weekly ECHO column, former Kop hero Aldridge believes that if Salah has designs on leaving Liverpool in the pursuit of greater riches elsewhere then the club must sell him in the summer.
He said: "You can’t allow the 12 months on his deal to run down because we would need to use that money to replace him. But how do you replace someone who scores 30 goals a season? It’s very difficult."
Check out the part one of Aldridge's Liverpool FC column HERE.
Liverpool fans keeping an eye on proceedings in South London this evening will be pleased to see that it is still goalless between Crystal Palace and Manchester City at half-time.
City have been on top, but the Eagles have looked dangerous on the break.
Let's see what the second half brings..
The will-he or won't-he saga over Mohamed Salah's contract offer looks set to rumble on for a while yet, but that doesn't appear to be shaking the Egyptian King's focus.
"It is still in our hands" posted Salah on social media late on Sunday night having scored his 20th Premier League goal of the season in the Reds' victory at Brighton the previous day.
It's clear from his comments that the prolific goal scorer is fully focused on the job in hand for now, as he chases more glory with the Reds.
More from Ian Doyle on Salah HERE.
Liverpool's title rivals Manchester City are in action tonight, as they make the trip south to Selhurst Park where they will face Crystal Palace.
The Sky Blues will have the opportunity to extend their lead at the top of the table back to six points before The Reds take on Arsenal this Wednesday, but supporters hoping for an Eagles win might be given extra hope by this little nugget of information.
City's dropped points this season have a trend of coming in pairs against their opposition. Pep Guardiola's side lost home and away to Tottenham Hotspur, and have drawn twice with Southampton.
They are still to play both Liverpool and Patrick Viera's side for a second time this season, but only managed a draw at Anfield and noteably were beaten by Palace at the Etihad Stadium on October 30.
If the sequence is to complete itself, a major upset could be on the cards this evening.
Wishful thinking? Stranger things have happened!
Could Liverpool face Arsenal on Wednesday evening without Mohamed Salah?
There was no sign of the Premier League's top scorer at The Reds' training session this afternoon.
The Egyptian was substituted moments after scoring from the spot after 61 minutes of Saturday's 2-0 win at Brighton having hurt is foot earlier in the second half.
While Jurgen Klopp stated after the game Salah was not concerned by the problem, the player subsequently underwent tests to ascertain the extent of the damage.
More from Ian Doyle no Salah and Liverpool's preperations for the trip to Arsenal HERE.
The summer transfer window is getting ever closer and Liverpool are continuing to be linked with a host of potential new players.
Luis Diaz was the Reds' only signing in January after agreeing a £49m deal with Porto to bring the Colombia international to Anfield.
Liverpool also pushed to bring in Fabio Carvalho from Fulham but the transfer could not be completed before the deadline.
The Reds may go back in for Carvalho once the season ends.
But he's not the only player being tipped with a move to Anfield.
So here, we take a look at some of the latest rumours doing the rounds online and on social media and how likely they are to happen.
MORE HERE.
Pep Guardiola is adamant Manchester City are not being pressured by Liverpool's title charge – but admits his team cannot ignore Jurgen Klopp's side.
The Reds again moved within three points of the leaders by recording an eighth successive Premier League win with a 2-0 triumph at Brighton on Saturday.
City are at Crystal Palace – one of only two teams to beat them in the top flight this season – on Monday night before Liverpool travel to Arsenal on Wednesday.
Both teams then have one further Premier League match before they meet at the Etihad on Sunday, April 10.
And while acknowledging City cannot influence what happens with Liverpool, Guardiola reveals they are keeping a close eye on their title rivals.
MORE HERE.
A date has been set for Liverpool Under-23s semi-final with Blackpool in the Lancashire FA Senior Cup.
The young Reds are through to the semi-final after beating Preston North End in the previous round.
The match is due to take place at the Kirkby academy on Monday, April 11.
Luis Diaz earned rave reviews once more for his latest Liverpool performance at the weekend.
The Colombian was on target in the Reds' 2-0 win at Brighton, bravely committing himself to head past the onrushing Brighton keeper Robert Sanchez.
Diaz has now scored two goals in five Premier League appearances and is proving just why Jurgen Klopp's side were right to jump ahead of Tottenham Hotspur to complete a January transfer.
Gary Lineker was left impressed by the 25-year-old when discussing his display on Match of the Day, applauding how quickly the former Porto winger has acquitted himself to the English top-flight.
MORE HERE.
Barcelona are reportedly plotting a move for Liverpool star Mohamed Salah.
According to Spanish news outlet AS, Barca manager Xavi is weighing up a move for Salah at the end of the season.
The report states that Barcelona’s preference is to sign Borussia Dortmund’s Erling Haaland this summer.
However, it has also been claimed that should Barca fail to sign Haaland, they will make a move for Salah.
The report goes one step further by saying that Barcelona will make a bid worth £50m-£58m for Salah this summer.
Garth Crooks has selected two Liverpool players in his Team of the Week.
The Reds claimed a 2-0 win at Brighton over the weekend thanks to goals from Luis Diaz and Mohamed Salah.
Victory at the Amex saw Liverpool move to within three points of leaders Manchester City in the league table.
And Crooks has gone with goalscorer Diaz as one of two Reds for his weekly XI.
But he admits the Colombian was fortunate not to sustain a serious injury after being clattered by Brighton goalkeeper Robert Sanchez in the process of opening the scoring.
MORE HERE.
Former Premier League referee Dermot Gallagher has explained why Robert Sanchez was not sent off for his challenge on Luis Diaz.
Liverpool claimed a 2-0 win over Brighton at the weekend thanks to a Diaz goal and a Mohamed Salah penalty.
For Diaz’s goal, after latching onto a long-range pass from Joel Matip, the Colombia international headed the ball past Brighton stopper Sanchez to put Liverpool in front.
However after Diaz made contact with the ball, Sanchez lifted his leg and collided with the Liverpool forward.
Despite plenty of pundits subsequently stating that the Spanish international deserved to be sent off, referee Mike Dean did not even hand out a yellow card.
VAR referee Stuart Attwell also did not instruct Dean to go over to the pitchside monitor to see if Sanchez’s challenge warranted a red card.
Speaking on Sky Sports News – alongside former Reds defender Stephen Warnock – Gallagher has explained why he thinks the decision was taken not to have Dean go over to the monitor to review the challenge by Sanchez.
MORE HERE.
Liverpool are reportedly close to signing young Celtic forward Ben Doak.
According to The Athletic, the Reds are close to completing the signing of the talented 16-year-old winger.
Due to Doak not yet signing a professional contract, Celtic would only be due minor compensation for the deal to take him to Liverpool.
The report states that the prospect of working with Jurgen Klopp was a big factor in Doak’s decision to move to Merseyside.
It has been claimed that other clubs across Europe were interested in Doak, but it appears that the youngster has chosen Liverpol.
Liverpool continue to be linked with a move for Real Socieded striker Alexander Isak
According to the Sunday Mirror, Liverpool are one of a host of Premier League clubs looking at signing Isak this summer.
The report states that Arsenal and Manchester United have also joined the Reds in expressing an interest in Isak’s services.
A fee of around £75m has been quoted in the report, too.
It has also been claimed that Liverpool are keen on signing Isak, who is said to only have an interest in signing for a club playing in the Champions League.
Young Liverpool defender Conor Bradley has been called up once again by Northern Ireland.
The Reds right-back has been called up by his country for their upcoming friendlies against Luxenbourg and Hungary during the March international break.
Arsene Wenger has explained why he would give Mohamed Salah a new contract at Liverpool.
Salah has once again starred for the Reds this season with 28 goals in all competitions, including 20 in the Premier League.
But reports in recent days have suggested the Egyptian and his representatives have rejected fresh terms from Liverpool.
Salah's current deal expires in 2023 and there have various suggestions of how big a pay rise he wants after five incredible years at Anfield, although both the player and the club have remained tight-lipped on that front
Speaking about the situation, Wenger outlined the considerations that must be taken before handing out new contracts.
And when referring specifically to Salah, the former Arsenal boss compared the Liverpool forward to Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi.
MORE HERE.
Liverpool have been dealt a blow in their reported pursuit of Leicester City star Youri Tielemans.
According to Spanish news outlet Fichajes, Real Madrid have joined the race to sign the Foxes midfielder amid apparent interest from Liverpool.
The Reds have been frequently credited with an interest in Tielemans, as his contract situation at the King Power Stadium rumbles on.
Tielemans’ current deal runs out in 2023, and recent speculation has claimed he is not willing to sign an extension.
Manchester City have also been credited with an interest in Tielemans, with a fee of around £37m-£42m thought to be enough to tempt Leicester into doing business.
Mohamed Salah has posted a message after his latest Liverpool goal and amid uncertainty over his future at the club.
The Reds forward has seemingly been constantly in the headlines ever since last summer – either through his sublime form on the pitch or his contract situation off it.
Salah scored his 20th Premier League goal of the season in the win at Brighton & Hove Albion at the weekend, which was also his 28th in all competitions.
The trip to the south coast came less than 24 hours after Jurgen Klopp spoke about talks over a new deal for his star striker.
Soon after the Liverpool's manager remarks, Salah’s agent, Rami Abbas Issa, responded by posting a series of laughing emojis on Twitter.
Reports then circulated that the Egypt captain and his representatives had rejected a recent contract offer from the Reds.
But it was business as usual for Salah on Saturday as he sealed the win at Brighton from the penalty spot. Not before, however, coming off with an injury which Klopp admitted will need 'assessment'.
But on Sunday night the 29-year-old spoke on Instagram.
MORE HERE.
Liverpool are reportedly “waiting” to make an offer to sign Barcelona youngster Gavi.
According to Spanish news outlet Mundo Deportivo (via Paisley Gates), Liverpool are “waiting” for Gavi to make a decision on his future after expressing an interest in his signature.
Gavi’s contract at Barca expires in 2023, and the Spanish club are thought to be looking at agreeing a new deal for the teenager.
The report states that Liverpool have made their interest known to Gavi, but the player’s priority is to remain at Barcelona.
However, the report adds that Liverpool know they can sign Gavi for £41.8m with his release clause, before it increases to £83.6m after June 30.
Liverpool could be forced to consider selling Mohamed Salah if the player’s contract situation is not resolved soon, it has been claimed.
According to the Athletic, the contract stand-off between the two parties is largely down to “money, respect and recognition” that Salah is said to feel he deserves.
The report states that Liverpool and FSG want to hand Salah a new deal but not at any price.
It goes on to say that if no agreement is reached by the end of the season, then Liverpool “have a decision to make” and consider offers for the £100m valued player – or risk losing him for free in 2023.
On this day 13 years ago, Liverpool claimed an emphatic 4-1 Premier League win over Manchester United at Old Trafford.
Connor O'Neill takes a look back at that famous day for the Reds.
MORE HERE.
Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has sent a warning to Liverpool ahead of Wednesday night's Premier League clash at the Emirates.
The Gunners have moved into the top four and leapfrogged Manchester United following their 2-0 win over Leicester City on Sunday evening.
That's five wins from their last five league games and they're in fine form heading into the crucial tie against Jurgen Klopp's side.
Arteta says his team will need to 'believe they can beat Liverpool' if they're to cause an upset in their push for the title.
MORE HERE.
Hello and welcome to Monday's Liverpool blog!
Join us throughout the day as we bring you all the latest news, transfer rumours and gossip from in and around Anfield.
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