Liverpool have reportedly seen three separate pursuits for summer transfer targets fall apart as they continue to try and bolster the squad.
The Reds have completed the signings of Dominic Solanke and Mohamed Salah so far this summer, two key additions in their own right, but it won’t be enough for them to meet their objectives this summer.
Jurgen Klopp’s side not only will want to push for the Premier League title, but they also return to the Champions League this season, and so more new faces will be needed to add quality and depth.
According to The Sun, Naby Keita is unlikely to be one of the them now as Liverpool are said to have abandoned their chase of the RB Leipzig midfielder.
Despite pushing to seal a club-record transfer worth £70m, it’s not enough to convince the Bundesliga outfit to sell as Klopp will now have to look elsewhere.
It’s a similar situation in defence, as it looks highly unlikely that Liverpool will have any joy in trying to prise Virgil van Dijk away from Southampton.
The Dutchman was heavily linked with a move to Anfield last month, but the Merseyside giants were forced to publicly apologise to the Saints after they lodged an official complaint against them with the Premier League for the manner of their approach.
Despite on-going speculation of a possible move, The Telegraph note that Southampton are focusing on re-integrating the 26-year-old into first-team training next week as they look to fix the broken relationship.
The club are adamant that they will not be making major sales this summer, and so that means Van Dijk goes nowhere unless there is a dramatic change of stance.
Meanwhile, to add to Liverpool’s woes, the Evening Standard insist that West Ham are determined to keep Manuel Lanzini, and they will resist any offer from Liverpool as they could be forced into looking for a replacement for Philippe Coutinho.
The Brazilian has been linked with an £80m exit from Anfield, but the Hammers will not allow Lanzini to replace him as they believe it would send out the wrong message given that they haven’t strengthened the squad this summer just to sell the 24-year-old, who is considered one of their top players.