Liverpool Transfer News: Llorente, Ba, Bastos And Butland Discussed In Latest Speculation

With reports of a hitch in a deal to take Chelsea’s Daniel Sturridge to Liverpool in the New Year, the Reds are also being linked to other options to strengthen their front line.

Reportedly on manager Brendan Rodgers’s radar is Newcastle striker Demba Ba. Having scored 11 Premier League goals already this season and with a much-publicized £7 million release clause in his contract, the 27-year-old is said to be interesting several Premier League clubs.

Newcastle boss Alan Pardew has admitted that the Senegal international’s future is uncertain.

"It's unfortunate that the contract he has leaves open a lot of questions because we have this clause and every window that comes around, I have to answer the same questions,” he said, according to Sky Sports.

"It would be disappointing for him to leave in this window for this club and for his team-mates here, but the decision will be his, ultimately, because that clause is there.”

Liverpool have also long been named as one of the clubs monitoring Fernando Llorente’s situation at Athletic Bilbao. The Spain international has said that he will not be extending his contract that runs to the end of the season.

The Reds may have held out hope of luring the 27-year-old to Anfield either in a cut-price January move or on a free transfer next summer, however, it looks increasingly likely that he will be heading elsewhere.

Citing a story in Italian publication TuttoSport, TalkSport reports that Juventus are set to meet with Llorente and Bilbao on Monday in order to discuss a move in next month’s transfer window.

It is claimed that the Italian champions are reluctant to offer more than £3.3 million for Llorente. But, with the lure of Champions League soccer on offer at Juventus, it is difficult to see how Liverpool could realistically compete for Llorente’s signature.

With Rodgers also believed to be keen to add to his attacking options out wide, Sky Sports claims that Liverpool are one of several Premier League clubs considering making a move for Lyon’s Michel Bastos.

The French club’s chairman Jean-Michel Aulas recently said that Bastos may be sold next month in an effort to reduce the wage bill.

Bastos, 29, operates as a left winger for the French club but has also been deployed as a left-back for Brazil. This season he has scored five goals in nine appearances for the club that currently sit level on points with leaders Paris Saint-Germain.

There has also been talk that Rodgers wants to bring in a goalkeeper to provide competition for or even potentially replace Pepe Reina. Birmingham’s highly-rated teenager Jack Butland is said to feature prominently among Liverpool’s targets.

The 19-year-old represented Great Britain in the Olympics during the summer when Birmingham are reported to have rejected a £6 million bid from Southampton. Having made his debut for England this season, Butland has said that he would have no problem making the step up to the Premier League.

“I have got confidence in my ability, I would always back myself,” Butland revealed, according to the Daily Mirror.

"I have been fortunate to play in quite a few big stadiums and I’d like to think I have handled myself very well.

“I don’t think the occasion would be a problem. I’d back myself and my ability. I want to be playing at the top level for as long as I can in my career.

“And those summer experiences gave me an idea of what to expect and how I need to be at that level.”