Of all the players linked with a summer move to Anfield, and there must have been near on a hundred already, the three that seem to be backed by most of the Loyal Liverpool faithful are reportedly edging ever nearer to the Merseyside club, and with this trio on board surely Rafa’s men will be bona fide title chasers in 08-09.

Liverpool want to repeat the success of £25m-rated Spanish striker Fernando Torres by buying £25m-rated Spanish striker David Villa. (Guardian)

Steven Gerrard intensified the ill-feeling between Aston Villa and Liverpool last night by urging Gareth Barry, his England teammate, to “better his career” by moving to Anfield. Martin O’Neill, the Villa manager, has already expressed unhappiness at Liverpool’s public pursuit of Barry and was understood to be furious upon learning of the remarks made by Gerrard while on England duty in the Caribbean. (The Times Online)

Espanyol have turned down an offer from Liverpool for their Spanish international Albert Riera. The Reds are believed to have tabled an offer of around €12m (£9.5m), but that falls considerably short of the La Liga club’s valuation. (The Independent)

Of the three deals right now it appears that Gareth Barry is the most likely to join, David Villa has made noises about wanting to leave Valencia for months now and is now reported as saying that he will discuss his future post Euro 2008, where he and Fernando Torres will surely scare the hell out of defenders as Spain look to avoid choking as they tend to do at most Finals tournaments. Rafa clearly see Riera as a player who can add a great deal of creativity to his side, however the fact that Espanyol want a rather unrealistic £19m for the 26 year old may be a sticking issue. Of the three who do Liverpool fans want most? If Rafa secures these three does he then have to consider his defensive issues or are they solid enough in that department?