Liverpool Transfer News: Ezequiel Lavezzi, Wilfried Bony, Marco Reus In Latest Rumors; Pepe Reina To Milan?

It took only two terms at the helm for Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers to lift the club to second place in Premier League and qualified for Champions League for the first time since 2009. It was particularly impressive boost considering the struggles in previous seasons under former manager Kenny Dalglish.

Now with the summer winding down, and the Reds already shelling out £80 million, Rodgers hopes to make enough splash moves to stay atop the EPL and make a deep run in Champions League.

The latest report indicates Liverpool has offered Paris Saint-Germain £18 million for forward Ezequiel Lavezzi, according to Tuttosport. The 29-year-old Argentine has been very productive during his two years in Paris, netting 12 goals in 60 appearances compared to the 38 goals he scored for Napoli from 2007 to 2012, and he could serve as insurance for forward Rickie Lambert or help run the attack until Daniel Sturridge enters the pitch.

Rodgers and the Reds have already invested heavily in strikers Lazar Markovic and Emre Can, but the third-year manager may need to mix and match all of his attacking options to find the right combination in order to replace Luis Suarez’s 31 goals from last term.

Enter Swansea striker Wilfried Bony. Liverpool and Tottenham appear to be the leaders to land the 25-year-old Ivory Coast star after Swansea realized they had little hope of retaining him, Daily Mirror reports. The Swans were asking teams to match Bony’s £19 million release clause, but now they’ve lowered their expectations. Bony is under contract until 2017, but he’s coming off an incredible 16-goal season, arguably the best of his young career, and his market value might never be higher for Swansea to cash in.

Considering how much the Reds have spent already this summer, Bony might already be wrapped in a Liverpool kit. But the same can’t be said for Borussia Dortmund midfielder Marco Reus, who’s on Liverpool’s as well as Manchester United’s and Bayern Munich’s radar, according to The Express.

An ankle injury kept Reus from participating in Germany’s World Cup run, but he’s expected to be healthy come the next term, and he would fit in well with Liverpool after scoring 21 goals in 41 matches last season. He’s under contract until 2017, but talks of a new contract have been put on hold. Still, with United also on a spending spree, and Munich never afraid to enter a bidding war, Reus might not make it to Anfield.

In other news, long-time Reds goalkeeper Pepe Reina was highly successful in his one-year Serie A run with Napoli, and now AC Milan are interested in the 31-year-old, Daily Mail reports. With his market value dipping well below £8 million, the Reds would accept a £4 million fee from Milan for another loan deal, but Reina is evidently asking for a £100,000-per week wage. A total price that might prove too expensive for Milan.