Liverpool news and transfers LIVE – Alexis Mac Allister move, Manuel Ugarte update, Roberto Firmino news
Liverpool transfer news, rumours, gossip and speculation including the latest on Moises Caicedo, Manuel Ugarte and Jurrien
will have to play the waiting game this Premier League matchday – as they are not in action until Monday night against Leicester City at the King Power Stadium (8pm).
By then, Jurgen Klopp and his players will have a clearer idea of what they need to do in their quest for Champions League qualification.
With some focus on the upcoming summer transfer window, meanwhile, there have been notable updates concerning proposed targets Moises Caicedo and Manuel Ugarte – via their respective agents. In other news, Ajax defender Jurrien Timber has mapped out exactly what he wants from his next club.
Dean Smith targets Liverpool’s away form
Leicester City manager Dean Smith believes his side can take encouragement from Liverpool’s patchy away form when the sides meet on Monday evening.
“I think it is six games on the spin,” said the ex-Aston Villa manager of the upturn in results produced by Klopp’s men. “You look at that and you go ‘It is a tough time to face them,’ but they haven’t won as many games on the road as they normally do.
In the Premier League, if I’m right, they’ve only taken ten points out of their last 30. We’ve got to make sure we have a Brighton or a Brentford performance against them, who got a result against them.
“The key is to have as many of your players getting seven and eights out of ten,” he continued when asked what is essential to beating Liverpool.
“I go back to winning your duels, you’ve got to still run faster and smarter than the opposition and use the ball better. If we do that, then we’ve got a good chance.”
Ten Hag downplays Liverpool’s chances
Erik ten Hag has downplayed Liverpool’s six-game winning run and insisted Manchester United are in the driving seat for Champions League football.
A month ago, the Reds’ top-four dream appeared over, with Jurgen Klopp’s side in eighth place and 12 points behind United. But a relentless run of victories has Liverpool fans believing the race is far from over.
“It’s not important, we have it in our hands,” Ten Hag told reporters. “We have to bring our performance and then it’s not important.
“(What is) important is the opponent we face tomorrow – Wolves. We take them seriously. They have done a great job, so our focus is on that. We don’t think about other opponents.”
no chance to talk to Darwin. I found out when he came with six bodyguards and did not want to speak at the airport.
“I had sent a boy from the company to look for him. There I tried to call him and, on a message from WhatsApp, he told me that he loved me very much, that he would always be my friend, blah blah blah but that he was going to start a new path with another company – and blocked me.”
Lasalvia also claimed karma will haunt Nunez further down the line. Since arriving at Liverpool, the 23-year-old is yet to find his feet in English football – scoring just nine Premier League goals.
“I had no right to reply,” Lasalvia added. “Everyone chooses how they want to live life, but there is karma, and everything comes back.
“He didn’t go with Jorge Mendes, he left with another agent, the same as (Nicolás) Otamendi. When he was in Benfica they did a little job like an ant, they started to eat his head. I got angry when I lost Darwin. It broke me in half because I adore the kid, but I understood that it’s business.”
Joe Hart sends blunt message to fans
Former Manchester City goalkeeper Joe Hart believes James Milner does not receive the credit he deserves as a footballer.
Team-mates at the Etihad Stadium for five years, the pair won four trophies together at City and were part of Roberto Mancini’s side that famously clinched the Premier League title on the final day of the 2011-12 Premier League season.
“Not many [teams] have James Milner’s, that’s how important he is,” the now Celtic shot-stopper told The Ben Foster Podcast. “I was thinking this the other day, he’s a good winger, a very good full-back, an amazing centre-mid. He even played up front for us for a patch and he was wicked.
“He’s talented and has been about since he was 16. he’s got skill: shooting with his left and right, crossing, distribution, engine and tackling. He’s a wicked player. I don’t like that he’s just known as a bit of a Gareth Barry, with 700-odd appearances, he’s a bit of a legend. No. He’s good, a really good footballer.
Jurgen Klopp gives Roberto Firmino and Naby Keita injury updates as Liverpool exits near
Jurgen Klopp says he expects Roberto Firmino to return to full Liverpool training next week.
Firmino has missed the last five games through injury and will also be absent for Monday’s trip to relegation-threatened Leicester City. That means the Brazilian now faces a battle to prove his fitness in time for what will be his last chance to appear at Anfield ahead of his summer departure.
Klopp confirmed that the 2015 summer signing won’t be part of training across the weekend, which rules him out of the visit to the King Power Stadium, but indicated that he has a chance to feature in the final home fixture of the season next Saturday against Aston Villa.
It promises to be an emotional occasion for both Firmino and the supporters should he be declared fit for the meeting with Villa on May 20 as the South American gears up for the final home appearance of a decorated eight-year spell on Merseyside.
Liverpool ‘advance’ with Manuel Ugarte
According to Uruguayan journalist Rodrigo Romano, Liverpool’s interest in the Sporting Lisbon is true as the clubs enter discussions for the midfielder.
We could be seeing Ugarte in a Liverpool shirt next season.
