Liverpool are set to lose out to Real Madrid in the race to sign Marco Reus from Borussia Dortmund.
Reds boss Brendan Rodgers had targeted the Germany international in a £46m deal as he looks to reinvest more of the cash earned from the recent sale of Raheem Sterling to Manchester City for £49m.
However, according to the Liverpool Echo, it appears Real are favourites to land the playmaker, who has been heavily linked with a move away from Dortmund this summer.
Following the expected completion of Christian Benteke’s £32.5m switch from Aston Villa to Anfield in the next 24 to 48 hours, Rodgers will look to offload some of his fringe players, with West Brom and Norwich set to battle for Rickie Lambert, who is set to be made available for around £2.5m.
Meanwhile, Man Utd boss Louis van Gaal is lining up a deal for a mystery striker amid reports the Premier League giants are after Thomas Muller. Van Gaal revealed on United’s US tour that he is close to signing a new forward – but not one who has been linked to the club in the media – and widespread claims he is lining up Bayern Munich’s Muller appear wide of the mark.
Sport1 in Germany say Bayern have rejected a £70m offer for Muller but the Daily Mirror says United have distanced themselves from those claims.
Elsewhere, Chelsea have been told they will have to pay at least £30m for Everton defender John Stones after having an initial £20m offer rejected last weekend, while Everton winger Kevin Mirrallas is wanted by West Ham, according to the Telegraph, with the Hammers tipped to offer around £8m for the Belgium international.
The Guardian says Crystal Palace are set to sign QPR goalkeeper Alex McCarthy, which should pave the way for Palace’s Wayne Hennessey to join West Brom, while the Eagles are also thought to be close to agreeing a deal to sign England under-21 striker Patrick Bamford on a season-long loan from Chelsea.
Finally, Barcelona striker Luis Suarez has urged team-mate Pedro to snub interest from the Premier League and stay at the Nou Camp. The Spain international has a get-out clause of £22m in his Barca deal and has been targeted by Chelsea, Liverpool and Arsenal but Suarez says he remains a key member of the squad and should fight for his future with the Catalans.
