Hello and welcome to the Liverpool transfer news blog recap.
This Easter weekend could be the one where the Reds secure their 20th top flight title with Arne Slot's team closing in on the feat. It could all happen on Sunday, when eyes will be on Portman Road for the 2pm kick-off between Ipswich and Arsenal.
If Arsenal lose, then three points against Leicester City for Liverpool in the 4.30pm kick-off at the King Power Stadium will see Liverpool claim the title. That result would also see the Foxes' relegation back to the Championship confirmed.
Ahead of the match, Liverpool have been handed a major boost. It was confirmed on Thursday that club captain Virgil van Dijk has signed a new two-year contract with the club. He joins Mohamed Salah who did the same the week before.
That's two of the three key players out of contract who have signed new deals. However, Trent Alexander-Arnold looks likely to leave on a free transfer at the end of the season, joining Real Madrid. The full-back has recovered from injury and could feature against Leicester.
With the future of both Salah and Van Dijk secured, it means that concentration for Liverpool can go into strengthening the squad in the summer transfer window. The Reds have already been linked with several names, including Eintracht Frankfurt forward Hugo Ekitike and AFC Bournemouth duo Dean Huijsen and Milos Kerkez.
Tsimikas shows true Alexander-Arnold feelings after clear message
Kostas Tsimikas has welcomed Trent Alexander-Arnold back to Liverpool training with open arms.
Although he appears set to depart Anfield - at least as things stand - it's very clear the relationship between him and his current teammates is still strong, as evidenced by a message from Kostas Tsimikas. On Instagram, the Greece international posted a photo of himself and Alexander-Arnold all smiles in training, with a red heart emoji as the caption.
Alexander-Arnold has also been active on social media for the first time since his injury, with pictures of himself inside Melwood alongside Ibrahima Konate and Dominik Szoboszlai. He also uploaded an image of himself in training on the grass.
Read more about Alexander-Arnold returning to training and how Tsimikas welcomed him
Bournemouth stance on Semenyo transfer amid 'not easy' claim
Despite it seemingly being a given that Dean Huijsen will leave Bournemouth because of his release clause, there is not the same expectation of an exit for Antoine Semenyo or Milos Kerkez yet, Fabrizio Romano claims in the Daily Briefing.
There’s also Antoine Semenyo, with many clubs interested but nothing advancing for the moment, no concrete conversations. We’ll see what happens later in the window, but also, Bournemouth want to try to keep some of their important players, so it’s not going to be an easy negotiation for both Kerkez and Semenyo.
Read more from Romano about the Reds' interest in Semenyo
Kerkez boost for Liverpool as Man United transfer stance revealed
Fabrizio Romano has claimed in the Daily Briefing that Manchester United are no longer looking to sign a left-back despite being keen on Milos Kerkez amid reported interest from Liverpool
For Milos Kerkez, there’s no release clause, but there’s strong interest, again from Liverpool. Kerkez is on the list, for sure, at Liverpool, and there’s also interest from more clubs, so the Hungary international is another player who is expected to be an interesting case to follow in the summer transfer window.
Liverpool already months ago showed an interest. Man United were also keen, but then they invested in Patrick Dorgu, so they are no longer looking for a player in that position.
Read more from Romano about the Reds' interest in Kerkez
Anthony Gordon makes Liverpool stance clear during interview with best friend - 'Every Scouser'
I think every Scouser’s idol, isn’t he?
Gordon previously said on The Overlap last year:
Steven Gerrard was my football hero growing up. Coming from Liverpool, he was like a God in Liverpool, and he was an unbelievable player.
Jones also acknowledged that the two speak with Trent Alexander-Arnold with their respective teams play each other:
When we’ve played against Ant, we’ve obviously spoken as a three about when Ant’s been against him and all things like that. We’ve always had a joke about it.
Huijsen update amid Liverpool interest and Premier League stance
Fabrizio Romano claims that the expectation is that Dean Huijsen will stay in the Premier League over a move to Real Madrid in a video for the Daily Briefing.
There is interest from Real Madrid, yes. There have been many rumours from Spain, but at the moment Real Madrid have still not decided whether they want to invest in a centre-back or not. That’s why, at the moment, Dean Huijsen is leaning towards a move internally, in the Premier League.
“He’s expected to continue in the Premier League, but at a different club. There is interest from several clubs…Liverpool, Chelsea, Arsenal, Newcastle – these four are surely in the race. Bayern have also been calling for weeks and weeks, but another Premier League club looks like being the most realistic destination.
Read more about what Romano said regarding the Reds' interest in Huijsen
Darwin Nunez true colours
Darwin Nunez has posted on social media for the first time after rumours circulated of a potential rift between himself and Liverpool boss Arne Slot.
Nunez has now broken his silence via social media. He took to Instagram to share a slideshow of pictures taken from an 'Inside Training' video posted on Liverpool's official YouTube channel.
He captioned the photos simply with two emojis - one emoji was a flexing arm and the other was an egg timer.
Ibrahima Konate worry
Paris Saint-Germain are eagar to sign a centre-back this summer, with Liverpool's Ibrahima Konate linked with the French giants.
In his latest update, journalist Fabrizio Romano revealed that defence is a priority for PSG this summer.
“I’m hearing that they want a centre-back,” he said on his Here We Go podcast.
"Centre-back is a position they could strengthen in the summer.
“They are already considering some options and PSG, as usual, will be busy.”
It comes amid reports earlier this week that the French side are ready to go 'all out' for Konate. The centre-back will have just one year remaining on his contract when the summer comes around.
Arne Slot delivers Darwin Nunez update
Liverpool manager Arne Slot has addressed rumours of an argument between a staff memeber and Darwin Nunez, following the forward's omission from the matchday squad against West Ham last week.
Speaking in his pre-match press conference ahead of the Leicester clash, Slot has said:
“He didn’t feel himself the day before the match, and he went inside and he wasn’t able to be part of the team the day after.
“That can mean multiple things, yes. He didn’t feel himself.”
He was then asked directly if there was an incident, to which the Liverpool boss replied:
“No, he didn’t.
“He did leave the pitch because he didn’t feel himself. As in he didn’t have words with a staff member.”
Full Premier League fixtures
While Liverpool may not be in action until tomorrow, there's still plenty of Premier League action happening today.
Here's a look at the full list of Premier League fixtures this weekend:
Brentford vs Brighton - 3pm
West Ham vs Southampton - 3pm
Everton vs Man City - 3pm
Crystal Palace vs Bournemouth - 3pm
Aston Villa vs Newcastle - 5.30pm
Ipswich vs Arsenal - Sun 2pm
Man United vs Wolves - Sun 2pm
Fulham vs Chelsea - Sun 2pm
Leicester vs Liverpool - Sun 4.30pm
Tottenham vs Nottingham Forest - Mon 8pm.
Liverpool to provide transfer 'competition' to Man United
Liverpool could compete with Manchester United for a transfer of AFC Bournemouth's Antoine Semenyo this summer, according to Sky Sports.
The report names United as 'frontrunners' for the forward, but it adds that they expect competition from clubs including Liverpool and Tottenham.
Bournemouth are said to value Semenyo as highly as £70 million, but could agree to a stuctured deal similar to the one they agreed with Tottenham for Dominic Solanke.
So what does Merson think?
Like his fellow pundit, Paul Merson has also backed Liverpool to come out as 3-0 away winners against Leicester tomorrow.
Writing for SportsKeeda, he said:
"You know what? Fair play to Leicester last weekend. They went 1-0 down and then 2-1 down to Brighton and could have easily given up but they managed to get a draw. Leicester really turned up in that game and that performance deserves credit.
I saw a spark in Leicester that could help them in the Championship next season. I don't think they can get anything from this game against Liverpool though. Arne Slot's men have some tricky games comin g up, but they have done enough already to become champions. Even when Liverpool aren's playing well, they end up getting the right results and I don't think they will be under too much pressure from here on."
However, like Sutton, Merson has also predicted that Liverpool celebrations will have to be put on hold for a few more days at least, with the pundit backing Arsenal to come out as 3-1 winners over Ipswich in the earlier kick-off.
Chris Sutton makes predictions
Pundit Chris Sutton has backed Liverpool to beat Leicester City 3-0 in the Premier League on Sunday.
Writing in his BBC Column, he said:
"Leicester ended their long losing run with a draw at Brighton last weekend, but I'm afraid another defeat is on its way for the Foxes here.
"Liverpool were as limp as anything against West Ham last time out, but they still got over the line. They could be even limper against Leicester, and they will still win to move even closer to the title. "
But will that be enough to win the title this weekend? Not according to Sutton, who has predicted Arsenal to come out as 2-0 winners against Ipswich.
Arne Slot praise
Former England international turned pundit Sue Smith has praised Arne Slot for the impact he has had at Anfield this season after taking over from Jurgen Klopp.
Speaking on Sky Sports Soccer Special, she said:
"What a fantastic job Arne Slot has done coming into that side, you could say brilliant from Jurgen Klopp leaving the team in such a great position but that transition through to him has been outstanding. Some of the stuff he has shown, wheather that's tactically, with in-game changes, wheather it's how he's dealt with the contract situation.
"He's been brilliant, and you can see the players have a real respect for him and the fact he straight away got that bond with the fans."
Conor Bradley wins award
Liverpool's Conor Bradley has been named as the Northen Ireland player of the year for 2024.
The full-back has impressed for Liverpool, stepping in for Trent Alexander-Arnold when needed. It could be a big season for the player next season amid uncertainty over Alexander-Arnold's future.
Liverpool 'turn attention' to Premier League striker
A surprise link here.
Football Insider claim that Liverpool are 'closely monitoring' Aston Villa striker Ollie Watkins as a potential alternative to Alexander Isak in the summer transfer window.
Arsenal saw a bid rejected for the England international in January, but he has since dropped to the bench at Villa Park with Marcus Rashford being preferred in the central striker role.
Darwin Nunez stance
Darwin Nunez is expected to leave Liverpool in the summer transfer window, according to Fabrizio Romano.
The Reds are said to have turned down offers from Saudi side Al Nassr in January, but 'all options' will be considered in the new transfer window, with the forward looking set to move on.
Time for a catch up
It's time to have a look at some of the stories you may have missed from early this morning.
Grab a cuppa and take a look:
Arne Slot makes Richard Hughes point as effect on Liverpool transfer plans explained
Liverpool next striker right under their nose after Omar Marmoush transfer links came to nothing
Liverpool interest in Premier League breakout star no surprise after major transfer boost
Arne Slot provides Trent Alexander-Arnold Liverpool contract update after double deal agreed
Hugo Ekitike to Liverpool transfer twist as Manchester United aim to 'hijack' Arne Slot plan
Philippe Coutinho admission
Philippe Coutinho has insisted he has no regrets about leaving Liverpool, admitting he just couldn’t say no to a dream move to Barcelona. The Brazilian left the Reds in a club-record £142m transfer to join the Catalans in January 2018.
However, his time at Camp Nou did not work out, with the 32-year-old ultimately failing to recapture the heights of his Liverpool career since leaving the Reds. And he has now opened up on his move to Barcelona and why it went wrong.
“We had loads of conversations. At that time, I really wanted to move to Barcelona,” he recalled. “We had many discussions about staying, about leaving. But, eventually, the club (Liverpool) agreed to let me go and I joined Barcelona."
Good morning
Hello Liverpool fans, and happy Easter Saturday!
My name is Amie and I will be taking you through the next few hours bringing you all of the latest news from in and around Anfield. We'll look at the latest on the transfer front as well as any build-up to tomorrow's game against Leicester City.
