Hello and welcome to our Monday live Reds blog for all your very latest Liverpool news, rumours and transfer gossip.
We will provide breaking stories, reaction and comment to all the big talking points from Anfield as well as keeping tabs on transfer market gossip from around the world.
We'll have the very latest on Timo Werner, who is repeatedly being linked with a move to Anfield, as well as updates as the Reds host open training and Jurgen Klopp's press conference will be coming later today too ahead of Atletico Madrid,
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Reds joined by teenage prospect in training
Luis Longstaff, an 18-year-old midfielder, joined in with the warm-up and continued with the first-team players as they completed passing drills at today’s open training session at Melwood writes Connor Dunn.
Click here for the full story
Klopp top of the shop for the Kop
Guardiola and Sterling planning to stay at City
Costa trains for Atletico
Former Chelsea striker Diego Costa had been a doubt for the Liverpool game but he was in training with his Atletico Madrid team-mates today.
Pass masters
On the ball
Fancy footwork
Paired up
Stretching
Reds warming up
No sign of Shaqiri
The Reds are out - only Milner in shorts!
Odds cut on Guardiola still being at City next season
Unsurprisingly following the Champions League ban, the odds on Pep Guardiola still being manager of Liverpool’s biggest rivals Manchester City next season have been cut.
Bookmakers have released odds on whether Pep Guardiola will be in charge of Manchester City on the first day of the league same of the 2020/21 season.
At the time of writing, bookies believe that Guardiola will be in charge of City, offering odds of just 4/11 that the Spaniard is in the dugout next campaign.
Converted to percentages, that’s a 73.3% chance that Guardiola is in charge of the first team, come next season.
However, they have cut odds on Guardiola not being the manager for the 2020/21 season, slashing odds from 4/1 into 2/1.
That’s due to an influx of bets on Guardiola leaving with 71% of all bets in the last 24 hours backing ‘no’ for next season.
In terms of where Guardiola could be heading to next, bookies believe Juventus is the most likely destination, currently even-money favourites.
A return to Barcelona is the next most likely scenario at 4/1, followed by PSG 5/1 and Bayern Munich (7/1).
Oddschecker spokesperson Callum Wilson said: “The only criticism of Pep Guardiola’s tenure as Manchester City manager has been his inability to win the Champions League… and it looks like he’s only going to have one more shot to do it.
“Although bookies make it favourite that he stays, punters have an incline that he could be on his way. This is certainly a story to keep an eye on.”
Will Pep Guardiola be in charge for the first league game of Man City’s 20/21 season?
Yes – 4/11
No – 2/1
Click here for more details on Oddschecker’s main site
Still waiting on the Reds
Just to let you know, Connor Dunn informs us that Liverpool’s players have yet to emerge for their open training session at Melwood.
We’ll provide you updates when they do come out to play!
Open training coming up
Don’t forget that from 11am we’ve got live coverage of Liverpool’s open training session at Melwood ahead of their Champions League trip to Atletico Madrid.
The ECHO’s Connor Dunn will be providing updates.
'Even Hodgson could guide Liverpool to the title'
So says my (almost) namesake Andrew Beasley in his ECHO column next week.
Basically if you parachuted Roy Hodgson’s Anfield record into Jurgen Klopp’s side’s remaining fixtures, then they’d still be crowned Premier League champions this season.
Simeone the worst possible opponent but at the best possible time
Atletico Madrid are still capable of raising it for any big game, but they are far from the force they were and coach Diego Simeone’s time in the Spanish capital really may finally be drawing to an end says the Independent’s Miguel Delaney.
He writes:
Some liken it to what Jose Mourinho has encountered in the last decade. Simeone’s approach, like the Portuguese’s, is best suited to those “warriors” from the last generation rather than the academy-insulated young players of this one.
Repeated sources say many of the new group are similarly unimpressed with the physical regime of fitness coach Oscar ‘Profe’ Ortega. They feel it as too brutal, and too rudimentary compared to the more position-specific approaches at other clubs. This is all the more pointed since it was Ortega’s regime, and the frenetic intensity it allowed, that was credited as so key to that first surge under Simeone.
It is now just being blamed for a spate of injuries, that have ravaged the club for the last 18 months. This is something that can’t be overlooked either.
Atletico have just had so many players out, only causing more ructions, and more inconsistency. They have most recently been missing pretty much all their forwards, with Joao Felix and Alvaro Morata out, and Simeone sweating on Diego Costa’s return for the Liverpool tie. This is one reason why they have only managed one goal a game this season.
It raises another bigger question related to approach, even more important than fitness. Are Simeone’s attacking tactics now just not as effective, too out of date as the game has evolved?
A bit like Mourinho, but in a more sophisticated way, Atletico are entirely built around counter-attacks and individual inspiration. So, when those necessary individuals aren’t there – like the strikers – there’s not much building at all. There’s certainly no construction of proactive moves. Some say it has had a particularly inhibitive effect on Felix.
This is why Atletico so struggle against inferior sides, especially in a football world that has seen attacking football and goal averages explode. The game’s tactics have taken huge leaps since even 2014, arguably faster than ever before.
So, Atletico suddenly look even staler. This is why fans wouldn’t be as distraught as a few years ago if they lost their £40m-a-year manager.
This, however, might still be what best suits playing Liverpool. There remains the feeling Simeone might be the only manager in the world capable of coming up with the approach that ends this run.
He can certainly still spot things other managers can’t – even if it isn’t currently looking as good for him.
Liverpool 'seriously interested' in Saka as Arsenal open talks
If there’s one thing Liverpool’s all-conquering squad could do with to supplement the strength in depth, it’s an understudy to Andy Robertson at left-back.
So you can understand why the Reds are being linked with a potential move for Arsenal youngster Bukayo Saka who has proven such an able deputy for the injured Kieran Tierney and Sead Kolasinac.
Having impressed in yesterday’s 4-0 thrashing of Newcastle United, Arsenal are pushing extremely hard to tie down the 18-year-old to a new five-year contract.
The Athletic - via The Express - say that Gunners chiefs are aware of serious interest from Liverpool, Manchester United and Bayern Munich for a player who has less than 18 months remaining on his current deal worth £3,000-a-week.
Director of football operations, Huss Fahmy, is leading urgent talks with the teenager about extending his current contract at Arsenal.
The Gunners are optimistic Saka will sign a new deal at the club after enjoying his first season of regular first-team football.
Paisley 'recreated' with Rushie
With Liverpool closing in on their first League Championship in 30 years, the Reds most-successful manager has been recreated for this imagined conversation with Ian Rush.
Werner is 'happy' insists Leipzig chief
RB Leipzig chief executive Oliver Mintzlaff has insisted that Timo Werner is happy at the club and is focused on the rest of the season despite being linked with a summer move to Liverpool.
However, Mintzlaff is confident that Werner is solely focused on helping Leipzig succeed this season while denying that the Reds have made contact over a move.
Following a 3-0 home win over Werder Bremen on Saturday in which Werner did not score - he told Transfermarkt - via the Daily Mail:
“We hear these reports all the time.
“Someone makes something up, and everyone else copies it. Werner is happy here and wants to play the rest of the season.”
Rest of the season? Quite.
Beyond then, well...
Reds up their chase of Cantwell
Liverpool have intensified their interest in signing Norwich City’s Todd Cantwell according to The Athletic’s David Ornstein - via Vital Norwich.
The 21-year-old has been linked with a host of clubs over the last few months with Ornstein reporting that Manchester City, Spurs and Manchester United are also keen but adding that Liverpool stepped up their interest in Cantwell in January and can now be considered front-runners for a summer transfer.
Dubbed ‘The Dereham Deco’ (after the Norfolk town where he was born) by Canaries fans, the midfielder was only a bit-part player in the Championship last term as they won promotion but despite his team’s struggles - they are bottom of the table - he has enjoyed a breakthrough year in the Premier League this season, making 27 appearances, scoring six goals and providing two assists.
Gerrard reacts to Man City ban and possible Premier League action
Liverpool legend Steven Gerrard says he is “really interested” to see if the Premier League takes action against Manchester City after UEFA found the club guilty of “serious breaches” of financial regulations.
PA reports that Pep Guardiola’s outfit could also possibly lose their 2014 league title if a separate Premier League investigation finds that they breached financial rules - which City deny - and points are deducted retrospectively.
Asked about the City situation, Gerrard, nwo manager of Rangers, said:
“I read that myself this morning [yesterday].
“We will wait and see. From a UEFA point of view, it is obviously a real strong sentence or punishment. I’m sure they will appeal so we will wait and see what the outcome is on that.
“Then we will see whether the Premier League act from there. But if you look at the severity of the punishment from UEFA, something has gone badly wrong.
“So I’m really interested to see the outcome of that. Until I get the punishment from the Premier League, I won’t comment further. But I’m really, really interested in it...for obvious reasons.”
Click here for the full story
Reds 'close in on Werner'
Liverpool are closing in on RB Leipzig hitman Timo Werner, according to Italian journalist Nicolo Schira via the Sunday Express.
Werner has a clause in his contract that can be triggered with a £50m, which is expected to prompt a scramble for his services.
Remembering Harry Gregg
Regardless of individual allegiances, the football world woke up this morning to the sad news of the passing of Harry Gregg, a hero of the Munich air disaster.
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Yesterday's top transfer news
If you’re looking for some of the big Liverpool news from yesterday, then fear not!
Our live blog was running throughout Sunday with news on the likes of Sadio Mane, Takumi Minamino and Cafu on Trent Alexander-Arnold making the headlines.
You can catch up with all of that news by clicking on the link below:
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