Liverpool will make a third and final offer for Southampton midfielder Adam Lallana following the World Cup according to this morning’s Liverpool Echo newspaper.
The Reds first made and initial offer of £20 million that the Saints immediately turned down before going back in on the eve of the World Cup with a bid of £25 million.
Southampton once again turned them down saying that they valued the England international at £30 million leading to increased speculation that Liverpool would abandon their quest and turn their intentions towards Bayern Munich’s Xherdan Shaqiri or Benfica’s Lazar Markovic, two players that the Reds scouted heavily last season.
Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers however is not ready to abandon hope of signing the 26-year-old Lallana and will make one final offer once the World cup is over that my also include the offer of Italian striker Fabio Borini if Southampton includes Croatian centre-back Dejan Lovren as part of the deal.
Southampton has just appointed Dutchman Ronald Koeman as their new manager, and really do not want to see one of their star players leave, which was backed up by the comments of executive director Les Reed who said: “Lallana’s been here long enough, we’ve brought him to this level and we feel that perhaps he should give it a little bit longer.”
“Anybody seriously considering coming for our players are going to have to think very significantly about the size of the fee.
“If we do take money it will be because it’s the right amount and it enables us to improve the team and move forward.”
“I hope the (managerial) announcement will pick up a few ears and they will think that’s a good, positive move from the club. If players leave, it will be because we believe it is right for the club.”
