Liverpool In £10m Charlie Adam Talks

Liverpool will hold talks with Blackpool this weekend in a bid to finally sign Charlie Adam.

The Anfield club are said to be tabling a £10m offer for the 25-year-old midfielder, aimed a seeing off interest from Aston Villa.

Manchester United could also enter the market for Adam, who is a fan of the Old Trafford club.

But Liverpool are now firm favourites to land the man they bid £8m for in January, with Blackpool chairman Karl Oyston expected to meet Anfield director of football Damien Comolli tomorrow, according to the Blackpool Gazette.

Liverpool To Swoop For World Cup Star

Liverpool are set to make a move for Algerian midfielder Ryad Boudebouz in the coming weeks.

The Algerian, who starred at last summer's World Cup, currently plays his trade at FC Sochaux-Montbeliard, but Kenny Dalglish has identified him as a potential transfer target after sending scouts to France last season.

According to Italian website Tuttomercatoweb, the 21-year-old is keen to test himself in the Premier League, with Liverpool willing to pay the €7 million required to obtain his services.

Boudebouz has been ear-marked as a great talent, and is seen as the more affordable option, with the British market currently over-inflated.

The midfielder had an impressive season last year, finding the net eight times. Although he is more accustomed to attacking, it is his ability to assist which is most attractive.

Having played for France at youth level, Boudebouz switch allegiances in order to play for Algeria.

He is the latest target, highlighted by Kenny Dalglish and Director of Football Strategy Damien Commoli, as young talent who can move the club forward.

Dalglish Considers £15m Move For Swiss Wing Wizard

A host of European clubs including Liverpool have been put on alert after Swiss club Basel put a £15m valuation on star player Xherdan Shaqiri, talkSPORT has reported.

The football site claims the 19-year-old winger could have been available for as little as £5m back in January but his club will now be demanding three times that amount.

That's because in the last six months, Shaqiri's stock has risen considerably after some stunning displays for both club and country.

His class was confirmed by his man-of-the-match display against England at Wembley earlier this month, whilst he has shone at the current Under-21 European Championships in Denmark.

talkSPORT claim Bundesliga club Bayern Munich are the ones who have expressed the keenest interest in Shaqiri but a number of Premier League clubs are monitoring the Swiss star.

Newly appointed Aston Villa manager Alex McLeish is said to have targeted Shaqiri as a replacement for Manchester United-bound Ashley Young.

Liverpool boss Kenny Dalglish is another manager thought to be tracking the highly-rated winger.

The Scot is eager to add wide players to his squad and has turned his attentions to Shaqiri after missing out on Young to United.

The promising teenager also fits the profile of Liverpool's transfer policy of recruiting young and talented players that can be shaped into world-beaters.

Shaqiri's contract does not expire until 2014 which puts Basel in a strong position when the time comes to cash in on their prized asset.

Reds Miss Out On Lucas Marcelinho

It appears that Liverpool have missed out on the signature of 18 year old Brazilian player-maker Lucas Marcelinho as reported on the Reds official website, which gave their source as givemefootball.com.

Marcelinho has been playing so well for his club Sao Paulo, that he has earned an international call to the national team. His playing style has been compared to an existing Brazilian playmaker Kaka, with speed, good passing and typical Brazilian dribbling skills.

Liverpool has been left staggered by the Euro 79 million release clause in Marcelinho's current club contract, which has all but ended the interest Liverpool had in him. The Brazilian giant is not willing to lose their young star players and is hoping that this information will put a stop to anymore interest in the playmaker.

It is looking like manager Kenny Dalglish will have to look elsewhere, when looking for an attacking midfield that he has been after.

David Ngog Wage Demands Delay Sunderland Transfer

David Ngog’s proposed switch to Sunderland is being held up by the striker’s wage demands.

Liverpool are happy to sell the Frenchman for a fee of around £4million but the Black Cats have so far been unable to agree personal terms with him.

The Wearside outfit insists they can’t match the wages Ngog would earn if he remained at Anfield next season.

And they are hoping the Reds will agree to drop the asking price for the 22-year-old to enable them to meet his demands.

Ngog was initially expected to complete his move to Sunderland as part of the deal which saw Liverpool snap up midfielder Jordan Henderson earlier this month.

However, with Ngog on holiday and keen to weigh up his options, the clubs agreed to conduct the transfers separately with Henderson signing for £16million.

Ngog, who cost Liverpool £1.4million from Paris St Germain three years ago, has scored 19 goals in 94 appearances.

But he is now surplus to requirements at Anfield with boss Kenny Dalglish keen to bring in Ipswich striker Connor Wickham to provide competition for first choice duo Luis Suarez and Andy Carroll.

Sunderland’s talks with Ngog are ongoing and despite the delay they remain hopeful a compromise will be reached to enable them to secure his services.

Melo Rages At Talk Of Liverpool Move

Juventus midfielder Felipe Melo has reacted furiously amid reports that he will be used by the club in a part-exchange deal for Liverpool's Raul Meireles.

Melo, 27, has endured a difficult time since moving to Turin from Fiorentina in 2009 and was 'awarded' the Bidone d'Oro - meaning Golden Bin, given to the player fans judge to be the worst in Serie A - during his first season with the Bianconeri.

His performances were much improved in 2010-11, but speculation has been mounting in the English and Italian press that he will be used as a makeweight in a move for Meireles.

In contrast to Melo, the Portugal international enjoyed an impressive debut Premier League campaign, scoring five goals in 33 games and picking up the ESPN PFA Fans' Player of the Year award.

Juventus are thought to be ready to offer £13.5 million for Meireles, with Melo thrown in, but the Reds are not thought to be interested in the Brazilian, who is fuming at his role in the protracted transfer.

"Let us say that Juve are not respecting me, or at least that's the impression I get," Melo said. "I'm not just anyone. I'm not a bargaining chip to be used to reach anybody."

Liverpool paid £20 million for young midfielder Jordan Henderson, while the likes of Charlie Adam and Dimitri Payet have also been linked with a move to Anfield.

Aquilani Back At Liverpool As Juventus Move Falls Through

Liverpool is stuck with Alberto Aquilani for the time being after failing to agree terms with Juventus.

The Italian flop has been a disaster at Anfield and was shipped out on loan to Juventus last season in order to get his career back on track.

But Kenny Dalglish has no plans to keep him at Liverpool and is eager to sell him, despite the fact he's likely to make a massive loss on the £20million shelled out for him by Rafael Benitez in 2009.

The injury prone midfielder arrived from Roma but first struggled to shake off an ankle injury before failing to command a regular starting place in the team.

A loan to Juventus followed but despite being keen to strike a deal with the Italian giants, Dalglish has been unsuccessful.

Aquilani, 26, is due back at Liverpool for pre-season training but that will not stop Dalglish's bid to sell him this summer.

Martin Skrtel Keeping Up His Fitness During Season Break

Liverpool defender Martin Skrtel insists that he is maintaining his fitness during the season break so that he can return to the club and put in performances reminiscent of last season.

The Slovakia international managed to play every single minute of the club's Premier League campaign and put in strong showings during the course of a rollercoaster campaign which saw the Reds occupy the relegation zone at one stage before eventually finishing seventh.

"I am still relaxing but it is not just sitting next to the pool," Skrtel said on his official website.

"I need to be fit for the upcoming season so I do train every day. I am with my girlfriend every day but I also go to the gym daily.

"I also use my bike a lot because I need to stay in good shape.

"My holidays are nearly over and it was great to be with my family again. I stayed out of football for a while but now I am in the middle of a strict regime.

"I also played with my friends from the national team in a charity match and it was great fun to be with them again.

"I will be heading to Liverpool soon and I hope this season will be a huge success."

Reserves Heading To Ireland

Rodolfo Borrell will take his Liverpool reserve side to Ireland next month for a pre-season friendly against Bray Wanderers.

The game, which will be played at the Carlisle Grounds in Bray, Co. Wicklow, will take place on Monday 18th July.

Pat Devlin, Manager of Bray Wanderers FC, said: "We are delighted that a Liverpool XI has agreed to visit Bray. It promises to be a great occasion for Bray Wanderers, and I have no doubt that the game will be a tremendous advertisement for the club and the town.

"To have a club with the great tradition of Liverpool visiting us is something that we should be very proud of. There is a huge amount of supporters of Liverpool within the area, and I know that they will be very keen to avail of the opportunity to see the upcoming stars from Anfield.

"I would particularly like to thank Kenny Dalglish for his assistance with this game, and hope that all who travel from Liverpool enjoy their time in Bray."

Hillsborough Families Reject Return To Terraces

Families of Hillsborough victims rejected any return to standing at football matches.

They spoke out as a public debate about the reintroduction of "safe" standing at football grounds in England went ahead in Liverpool last night.

The meeting was organized by the Football Supporters' Federation (FSF) at The Sandon pub, in Anfield.

The FSF said its proposal would not be a shift back to terracing, with each fan instead given an exact spot to stand behind a galvanized metal bar.

But Margaret Aspinall, chairman of the Hillsborough Family Support Group, who lost her son James, 18, at Hillsborough, said the group would never change its opinion on standing.

She told the ECHO: "I will firmly say our group will not change its opinion. We definitely do not want any form of standing whatsoever at football grounds.

"It is an insult to the memories of the 96 people who lost their lives at Hillsborough. It is like moving 10 steps backwards rather than going forward."

She added: "Are they going to give them a guarantee people will be safe in a standing area?

"With all-seater stadiums, we are 99% certain there will not be another disaster in this country and there has not been one since Hillsborough. Why go backwards with standing?

"The legacy of the Hillsborough disaster is that people are safe in all-seater stadiums. We do not want to go back to the 1980s."

Mrs. Aspinall did not attend the meeting but the HFSG will meet the FSF to discuss its stance in the next few weeks.

FSF chairman Malcolm Clarke said: "This is not an insult to the 96. We are fully committed to the campaign for justice and we hope next year the [government-appointed] panel will reveal the truth of what happened at Hillsborough.

"We can understand the sensitivities in Liverpool. We are not proposing Liverpool, Everton or Tranmere Rovers should do this.

"We are asking for the law to be changed. It would lead to a stand passed by the authorities."

Top-flight grounds saw the conversion of terraces to all seater stadiums following the Lord Justice Taylor report.

The document was produced in light of the 1989 disaster, when 96 Liverpool fans died.

An example of the safe standing area - which is in use at Stuttgart FC's stadium in Germany - was on show in the pub's car park.

The gathering of around 70 people at The Sandon heard the model could not be retro-fitted on to current stadiums.

It was also said that the model would not be suitable for children because of height issues.