Exclusive: Liverpool Set to Complete Deals to Sign Chelsea & Barcelona Pair as Brendan Rodgers Looks to Strengthen Squad

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Anfield boss hopes to strengthen squad in push to secure vital top four finish.

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Liverpool boss Brendan Rodgers is closing in on moves to capture Chelsea wide-man Ryan Bertrand and Barcelona attacker Cristian Tello.

CaughtOffside understands that Rodgers is confident of beating off other interested parties in pursuit of left-back Bertrand, in a deal that could set back the Anfield side around £7m.

Rodgers know Bertrand well from his time at the Stamford Bridge club both as youth and reserve team manager during his stint in West London, and looks likely to convince the 24 year old England international to opt for a move to Liverpool over a potential switch to Merseyside rivals Everton.

Bertrand has barely figured since Jose Mourinho’s return to Chelsea, making just one Premier League start this season, and his place in the first team set-up was perhaps summed up by the Portuguese manager’s decision to opt to use right-back Cesar Azpilicueta in recent weeks his decision to freeze Ashley Cole out of his starting eleven.

Injury to Jose Enrique has left Rodgers using John Flanagan, with good effect, to fill the club’s left-back berth but the Liverpool manager wants to bring in Bertrand, who can also play further up on the left wing.

Rodgers is also edging towards completing a deal to bring in Tello, initially on a temporary basis, but with an option to sign the attacker in the summer.

The 22 year old Nou Camp starlet is set to join on a loan deal until the end of the current campaign and will provide Brendan Rodgers with an extra dimension to his attack as Liverpool push to secure a top four finish.

Tello has struggled to make an impact under boss Gerardo Martino, making just two La Liga starts this term, having seen the signing of Neymar and the resurgence of Alexis Sanchez limit the attacker’s involvement in the Barcelona first team set-up.

The inability of loaned in Chelsea man Victor Moses to make an impact and Iago Aspas’s poor displays have left Rodgers keen to strengthen his squad and the addition of Tello will offer a new option for the Northern Irish boss.

Tello has impressed over the previous two campaigns when handed more of a chance to impress under first Pep Guardiola and then Tito Vilanova, and the speedy wide-man has scored 16 goals for Barcelona.

Such a move could help beef up an attack that currently relies heavily on Luis Suarez, not least as Daniel Sturridge continues to be sidelined with injury.


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