Hello and welcome to our dedicated Liverpool live blog for Sunday, August 13.
Stick with us as we bring you all the latest on Liverpool’s tug-of-war pursuit of Brighton & Hove Albion midfielder Moises Caicedo. The Reds are refusing to walk away from their bid to sign the 21-year-old – as Chelsea prepare to splash out a British record £115million for the player.
The Reds stole a march on the Londoners when Brighton accepted a bid of around £110m for Caicedo in the early hours of Friday morning, with the Seagulls having set a midnight cut-off for their auction of the wantaway 21-year-old.
Chelsea are also close to signing Liverpool’s other defensive midfield target Romeo Lavia from Southampton. The London side had talks with Southampton on Friday over a deal of an initial £52m plus a further £3m in add-ons for the 19-year-old. Liverpool do not believe the player represents value at that amount.
If all that drama wasn’t enough, the two sides meet at Stamford Bridge later this afternoon in their first Premier League game of the season. Expect plenty of needle in that one.
Mbappe freed from undesirables
PSG have confirmed that Kylian Mbappe has returned to first-team training after spending the whole of the summer training with the club’s “undesirable” squad.
The 24-year-old, who is set to leave PSG next summer on a free transfer after turning down a contract extension at the Parc des Prince, had been banished from the senior squad this summer. He was also left out of the matchday squad for Saturday’s opening Ligue 1 game of the season against Lorient.
However, on Sunday, a statement from PSG read: “Following very constructive, positive talks between PSG and Kylian Mbappé before game vs Lorient, the player has been reinstated into first team training squad this morning.”
Manchester United approach for Benjamin Pavard rejected
According to Fabrizio Romano, Man United have had an initial approach for Bayern Munich full-back Benjamin Pavard rejected.
The 2018 World Cup winner has been heavily linked with a move away from the Bundesliga champions this summer and had previously been linked with a move to Anfield.
Taking to Twitter, Romano said: “Bayern rejected United’s first approach for Benjamin Pavard, as reported on Saturday. But Man United remain there as Pavard wants the move. He won’t sign a new deal at Bayern and insists to leave.”
Pavard is contracted at Bayern until 2024.
Moises Caicedo could confirm Liverpool transfer stance without saying anything at all
Liverpool get their new Premier League season underway at Chelsea on Sunday in what is the stand-out fixture over the opening weekend.
But while normally full attention would be on matters on the pitch at Stamford Bridge come 4.30pm, in truth there are likely to be more eyes on events actually off the field of play as this week both sides became embroiled in one of the Premier League’s host hectic transfer sagas.
Moises Caicedo and Romeo Lavia have been the subject of bids from both clubs this week, with the Reds having a club-record £110m bid accepted by Brighton for the Ecuador international on Thursday night just days after Southampton had rejected their third offer, worth £46m for the Belgian on Monday.
Meanwhile, Chelsea are reportedly preparing an offer of £115m for Caicedo, having already been outbid by Liverpool after belatedly agreeing to pay Brighton’s £100m asking price following a midnight cut-off point with the Seagulls wanting his future resolved quickly. They are also said to be working on a £52m plus £3m in add-ons deal for Lavia, having had a £48m bid rejected on Wednesday.
