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It’s quite the odd situation at Liverpool right now, with, despite the fact that the transfer window has not yet officially opened, Nathaniel Clyne’s imminent arrival set to be the sixth of the summer. SIXTH! The England right-back shone with Southampton last season, helping the Saints to register the second best defensive record in the Premier League last term – only Champions Chelsea conceded fewer goals – making him a seemingly ideal successor to Glen Johnson, who has been released.

Even with Clyne added to the quartet of Adam Bogdan, Joe Gomez, James Milner and Danny Ings, Brendan Rodgers is likely to want more signings, particularly with Raheem Sterling’s future up in the air, and here are FIVE more potentially Anfield-bound stars…

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Mateo Kovacic

Even though the logic behind speculation of a move for Kovacic is a little questionable following the arrival of James Milner, links between the Reds and the young Croatian persist. Amid the Roberto Firmino completion talk, reports still insisted that the 21-year-old remains on Rodgers’ radar, with his neat passing and sheer potential standout factors.

Inter Milan are, however, seemingly reluctant to do business, which could be a factor contributing to the dragging of this one. The lack of English credibility to this deal is also something worth considering, but the sheer persistence of the rumour lends it some credibility.

Christian Benteke

With the ever-reliable Liverpool Echo now claiming that Benteke is the top target at Anfield once again, there’s every chance this rumour could drag on for a little while. Opinion between Reds fans appears to divided in regard to the big Belgian, whose goalscoring ability and proven Premier League record cannot quite make up for his apparent lack of suitability to a Rodgers team.

Aston Villa are desperate to keep their man following his heroic end to the season – he notched 12 in 13 games – and are holding out for £32.5m, which is an issue for Liverpool.

Javier Hernandez

One of the more bizarre links out there involves Hernandez. The Mexican is certainly an able hit-man, but the bitter rivalry between Liverpool and Man United would suggest that a deal will be tough, if not impossible, to sort out. A lack of future at Old Trafford for ‘Chicharito’ may open the door, so there is a chance that the Central American could be rocking up on Merseyside…

Although not truly effective as a lone striker, Hernandez could offer Rodgers an intriguing option alongside Daniel Sturridge, when fit, or Danny Ings, with the service of Roberto Firmino and Philippe Coutinho seemingly ideal for the ex-Chivas Guadalajara ace’s movement.

Denis Cheryshev

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Reading into the abundant rumours of Raheem Sterling’s move to Manchester City and suggestions that Roberto Firmino’s purchase was in no way influenced by the aforementioned Englishman, Chershev looks to be a possible replacement. The Russia international is now back at Real Madrid following a decent loan spell with Villarreal, but with no senior Los Blancos appearances to his name at the age of 24 and competition fierce, his future looks bleak.

It’s claimed that Liverpool are attempting to push a £15m deal for his signature, which, albeit slightly risky, would hand Rodgers yet another attacking threat with his pace and direct running tailor-made to succeeding Sterling.

Salomon Rondon

Should Christian Benteke prove to be too expensive, the Venezuelan could be pursued… well, according to reports. 13 goals as Zenit Saint-Petersburg ran to the league title is a positive return, but his 6ft. 3” frame makes him a little similar to Mario Balotelli in terms of stature and raises the same worries being broadcast by many fans in regard to Benteke.

Rondon does, however, appear to be in hot form after following his Zenit heroics with Venezuela’s winner against Colombia in the Copa America – albeit they still finished bottom of Group C and were eliminated.

New Everton boss Roberto Martinez is keen to make a summer move for Chelsea winger Victor Moses, according to reports from the Sunday People.

The now Goodison Park chief coached the Nigerian international at Wigan, and is believed to be keen to reunite with his former star after being named Toffees manager.

Moses is thought to be facing a tough fight for first-team football next term, with Jose Mourinho already being linked with a number of big name stars.

The likes of Eden Hazard, Juan Mata and Oscar are already ahead of the 22-year-old in the pecking order, and speculation suggests that the ‘Special One’ could make moves for a number of established stars in the coming months.

Martinez is keen to take advantage of this, and is confident that he can tempt Chelsea to allow the man they signed for £9m last summer move on.

Moses himself could be keen on a switch, after watching his career stagnate since his arrival at Stamford Bridge.

Martinez may also make moves for a number of his former Wigan players, with Callum McManaman, Shaun Maloney and Ivan Ramis all on his wish list.

James McCarthy remains one of the Spaniard’s top targets, but he will face competition from Arsenal and Wigan for the midfielder.

Should Victor Moses leave Chelsea? And would he be the ideal man for Everton?

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Liverpool have insisted that they would rather keep striker Andy Carroll for another season rather than face the prospect of taking a heavy loss on him before the transfer deadline, according to the Daily Express.

Despite the England international not featuring in Brendan Rodger’s first-team plans for the season, the club have said they will not compromise on the player’s price – meaning the 23-year-old looks set to spend another campaign resigned to the bench.

Bids from West Ham, Aston Villa, Fulham have all been turned down, with Carroll eager to move back to his hometown club, Newcastle. Alan Pardew is keen to end the 6ft 3in England forward’s Liverpool nightmare, but the club are not willing to match the £20 million asking price set by Liverpool. Magpies’ manager Alan Pardew feels that Carroll’s price will depreciate as the transfer deadline moves closer, knowing Rodgers’ desperation to sell the player and use the funds received to sign some of his own targets. However, Rodgers has announced he will not let Carroll go if a serious offer arrives too late for him to bring in a serious replacement. It was rumoured that Tottenham were interested in a deal, but with their recent signing of Emmanuel Adebayor, this interest may have cooled.

It is no secret that new Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers wants Carroll off his books only 18 months after the striker signed for the side, but has failed in his bid to sell the player so far, with Carroll unwilling to go to a club which doesn’t play in Europe regularly. Rodgers is set to have talks with Carroll to explain the situation to the striker, and will inform the England international that he might have to join a lesser club who are ready to match Liverpool’s fee, or spend a lot of time in the coming season warming the bench at the Merseyside outfit.

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Tottenham are one of three clubs lining up a summer swoop for Spartak Moscow’s Quincy Promes, but will it mean the end of Erik Lamela at Tottenham?

According to a report from Poka Moscow (via Back Page Football), Tottenham will battle Newcastle and Roma this summer for the signature of Quincy Promes.

The electric Dutch winger has grabbed an impressive 21 goals in all competitions for Spartak Moscow, and has terrified defences all season with his pace, directness and clinical finishing.

Tottenham are of course quite stacked in the attacking midfield department, in fact it’s probably the area least in need of strengthening this summer.

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However, Erik Lamela could leave the club after a difficult season, and Promes would certainly be an upgrade on the Argentine.

Lamela grabbed two goals in the crazy final day win over Leicester, but has only started seven Premier League games this season, and isn’t the type of player that’s going to really push Tottenham to the next level.

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Fans have always appreciated the tricky winger for his work rate and passion for the badge, but a choice of Dele Alli, Christian Eriksen, Son Heung-min, Lucas Moura and Quincy Promes for those three positions behind Harry Kane would be truly terrific for Tottenham.

So, Spurs fans, would you dump Lamela in order to sign Promes? Let us know by voting in the poll below…

Following Saturday afternoon’s stalemate between Sunderland and Leicester City – which ensured survival for the Foxes – Dick Advocaat now has just two matches left to keep the Black Cats in the Premier League. And if they do manage to survive the drop then Advocaat, like Nigel Pearson at Leicester, will have pulled off a truly great escape.

The relegation battle has been absolutely compelling this season especially as the top four looked all but wrapped up for a good few weeks and featured the usual suspects. But the race to avoid the drop has twisted and turned, condemning two already and is still putting fear into at least three teams who know that falling out of the top-flight can be all too easy while promotion can take many years to re-achieve. That is how competitive the Championship is nowadays.

Not only is being relegated the end of a dream for supporters who get to see their team play top English clubs throughout the campaign, but this year in particular is a bad time to leave the Premier League – with the revenue from broadcasting rights about to skyrocket the three losers will obviously miss out.

But there is still hope. Sunderland have a decent chance of staying up with Steve Bruce’s Hull looking like the most likely victims as they currently occupy the final relegation place and must win against Manchester United on the last day of the season if they want to have the prize of staying up.

Leicester City’s unexpected jump up to 14th has made Sunderland’s situation more precarious, but you really can’t imagine Hull beating United next Sunday so Advocaat’s men should be alright. Advocaat, who has never suffered relegation as a manager, was given the Sunderland job after the club decided that Uruguayan Gus Poyet probably wasn’t the right man to keep them up. That choice has proved to be a good one. Since the Dutchman’s appointment in back in March, the North-Eastern side are both performing better and picking up vital points at home and on the road.

Advocaat’s record since arriving at the Stadium of Light compared with his predecessor is quite impressive. The Dutchman has only lost two of the seven league games he’s been in charge of claiming important wins over Everton, Southampton and fierce rivals Newcastle, who sit a point below them and have played an extra match. In contrast Poyet won only one of his final seven league games and couldn’t prevent an FA cup exit at the hands of League One side Bradford City.

Queens Park Rangers and Burnley, two of last season’s promoted clubs, will be back playing in the Championship after an all too short return to the upper realms of English football. Hull, Newcastle and Sunderland are all fighting to avoid a similar fate, but time has almost run out.

Surely if Dick Advocaat had been installed earlier then Sunderland would be safe by now. No one will blame him if they do get relegated rather the supporters will thank him for giving the club a chance of survival and will hope that he stays on board for next season, no matter whether they line-up in the Premier League or the Championship.

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Real Madrid had an insider at Tottenham doing a lot of the necessary dirty work last summer. Luka Modric played a key role in forcing through his sale to Real Madrid, using all the modern tricks in the book to undermine Tottenham and Daniel Levy’s position, even if on paper they held a strong hand. This time around, Real Madrid are continuing to use similar tactics that has won over previous stars of the Premier League, proving that the Spanish giants are not prepared to learn from previous ventures.

But in honesty, who can really tell clubs like Real Madrid or Barcelona to keep their distance? It’s the Bayern Munich story on a Europe-wide scale. Whatever they want they eventually get. Tottenham and certain corners of the English football community – those who would unconditionally back the underdog – simply don’t have the power to forge a counter attack; at the very least the feeble defence barrier holds well enough for an extra 12 months. But the wider story here is that none of these clubs, especially those with the current standing of Tottenham (relative to Real Madrid), can do much to intimidate those who persistently come knocking.

These are underhanded tactics that will never truly be eradicated from football. Sure, they wind up Tottenham, Arsenal, Manchester United, and any other unfortunate English club whose star player pops up on La Liga clubs’ radar, but it’s become the norm of the transfer circus. And they simply won’t take no for an answer.

It was reported earlier in the month that Real Madrid had notified Tottenham that they would not launch a bid for Gareth Bale this summer, in an act that can only be described as a ‘gentleman’s agreement,’ yet one with devilish undertones. Are we really supposed to believe that? They’ll get what they want, even if they have to force Bale to push the transfer from his end.

On this occasion it’s slightly different. In the past, Cesc Fabregas wanted to return ‘home,’ Cristiano Ronaldo had apparently always dreamt of playing for Real Madrid, and Luka Modric became one of those players who simply couldn’t say no to the Spanish Giants. Our footballers in Britain, on the other hand, look up to clubs like Manchester United and hold them as the truest and highest point of the game. Ironically, United could arguably fall into that category of getting exactly what they want, too. But the significance here is that Bale’s British nationality may not force the kind of rise that the utterance of the words ‘Real Madrid’ would in European or South American players.

But in the grander scheme of things, that doesn’t really matter. Zinedine Zidane has been out talking up Gareth Bale as one of the best players in the world, topped only by Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo. In Florentino Perez’s eyes, Bale was “born to play for Real Madrid.” It’s getting messy for Tottenham (again), but it’s something that simply can’t be escaped. There are no lessons to be learnt here. Madrid’s aim is the Champions League. They want to become the undisputed dominant force in Spanish football. They understand the importance of toppling the powers from Germany. If Tottenham are in the firing line, so what?

And Real Madrid will continue to chip away at Tottenham’s credibility in all this. Daniel Levy wants something in the region of £80 million? Well that’s not happening. Selling club’s generally don’t dictate how much a player goes for. The market and, in this case, Real Madrid, hold the upper hand. It’s all part of the process. Why spend that much on a player when he can be had for much, much less if the selling club have little choice in the matter? It creates the image of player power, but that’s not really the case. Just like Financial Fair Play, these tactics are there to be exploited in order to keep the rich at the top and the poor well away.

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Even with his steely determination, something which should be admired, Daniel Levy is close to powerless to stop Madrid from getting what they want. Those defence shields may come up and the celebrations of victory in battle will arise, but they will be short lived. Clubs like Real Madrid always win the war, even if it means postponing their final and decisive assault by 12 months.

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According to German publication Bild, Southampton turned down the chance to sign Schalke contract rebel Max Meyer for €10m (£8.8m), and Everton should take advantage by bringing him to Goodison Park on a free transfer this summer.

What’s the word, then?

Well, Bild says that Saints were offered the chance to bring the 22-year-old to the Premier League during the January transfer window, with the Bundesliga outfit already accepting at that stage that the player wasn’t going to extend his current deal which expires at the end of the season.

However, Bild reports that the south coast outfit rejected the move, meaning there could be a real scrap to sign the Germany international – who has been suspended by Schalke after he claimed in an interview that his club had bullied him – this summer.

Meanwhile, the Toffees snatched a 1-1 draw against Southampton at Goodison Park on Saturday that all-but ensures they will end the campaign in eighth position, but unpopular boss Sam Allardyce, who was slated by his own fans on Twitter over the weekend for the lack of respect he has shown, will already be identifying transfer targets to help them significantly improve on that in what has been a disappointing year overall.

How has Meyer done this season?

The 22-year-old has been one of Schalke’s real star players in previous campaigns, but his contract situation and the fractured relationship with his manager appears to have affected his form badly this term.

The Germany international has scored one goal and provided a further assist in 28 appearances in all competitions, and he is unlikely to add to that now because of his suspension.

Meyer has largely played as a defensive midfielder this season, but he is versatile and can also play in the centre, as an attacking midfielder and even as a striker, and he will likely prefer to play further forward whichever club he does join this summer.

Why should Everton sign him?

Firstly, he is available on a free and the Toffees should be looking to sign talents like the 22-year-old who have plenty of quality and potential to improve.

Secondly, he would provide some much-needed competition for the likes of Morgan Schneiderlin and Idrissa Gueye in the middle of the park, and Gylfi Sigurdsson in a more attacking role.

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With seven goals in 24 caps for Germany, it is clear to see that he has the quality to help take the Merseyside outfit to the next level.

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After coming so close to clinching their first title in 24 years last season Liverpool have sharply regressed and look likely to even miss out on the top four. The Reds are still in with a chance but after an inconsistent campaign their fate is not in their own hands.

The main problem they have encountered this season has been their lack of a reliable goal scorer. Luis Suarez left for Barcelona, Daniel Sturridge has been plagued by injuries and new signing Mario Balotelli has failed to make the impact expected of him.

Liverpool were in contention for five trophies, if you include their participation in both the Champions League and the Europa League, and yet they will end this campaign with nothing to show for all of their blood, sweat and tears.

Their best chance of glory was surely the FA Cup as they blazed a trail all the way to the semi-finals. They looked certain to make it all the way to the end, perhaps even to be crowned winners come May 30th but Aston Villa unravelled their plans and it is the Villans who will face holders Arsenal in the final.

Before that came another disappointing exit. All of England’s four Champions League entries failed to make it past the last 16 but Liverpool got knocked out the earliest failing to even get out of their group. Then after being demoted to Europe’s second best competition Liverpool underperformed, cursed with falling at the group stages once again.

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By failing to make the top four, if that does end up being the case, means that Liverpool will be playing once more in the Europa League and although some clubs have admitted that the tournament can be a distraction when thoughts should be on the domestic campaign I think the Reds shouldn’t be too quick to overlook it. A team who believe they are good enough to compete in the main competition should be more than capable of winning the next best thing.

Liverpool need to treat the tournament with more respect and I’m sure their fans after a three year trophy wait, the last being only a League Cup victory, would be grateful to finally have something decent to cheer about.

Liverpool should take note from the current Premier League winners.

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Three seasons ago Chelsea had just won the Champions League but found themselves a couple of months later not playing to retain that trophy but instead travelling to small European clubs for Europa League fixtures. Some may have thought that the whole thing was kind of embarrassing considering the success of the previous year but Chelsea had the right mentality and kept their eyes on the prize. 12 months after winning the Champions League they won the Europa League which not only gave them another trophy for their cabinet but also were also rewarded with automatic qualification for the main tournament. Breaking into the top four is only going to get harder so this may be a good route for the Reds to take.

Liverpool need to prove to their supporters that they can still win trophies and as long as they bring in the necessary personnel in the upcoming window then the Thursday fixtures shouldn’t negatively affect what is already a team with a lot of promise. Now they just have to start delivering.

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It’s not often in football journalism you hear a good story about a fan, nor a good story about a manager who has done something nice for a fan.  The reason for this is because this type of news is usually known to be mundane, not outlandish, it doesn’t cross the border of ‘against the norm’.  There is the usual cliché saying that ‘no news is good news’, however in this instance, the journey of Abel Rodriguez is a heart warming story that really should be broadcasted.

Cleaner, Abel Rodriguez is a 41-year-old Mexican-American who waxes floors for Los Angeles Metro Transportation.  For the past 7 years, every summer Rodriguez would take 2 weeks vacation to do voluntary support work at Real Madrid’s Pre-Season training camp in L.A.  Everyday for those two weeks Rodriguez would wake up at 5am, leave his house in Fontana to prepare the training camp and help Mourinho with anything he and his staff would need.  Rodriguez would then arrive back to his home at 11pm, where he would sleep and do it all over again the next day.  Why?  Quite simply because of his love for the game and of course he is a big Real Madrid and Jose Mourinho fan.  Rodriguez had a dream, although he had never ventured into Europe he wanted to watch El Clasico in person at the Bernabau.  With Mourinho looking likely to exit in the summer, Rodriguez realised that his last chance would be on 2nd March.  However, it seemed inevitable that with a wife and 3 kids, the holiday fund Rodriguez had been saving wouldn’t be going towards this.  That was until his wife and his eldest daughter told him to go, they knew how much this would mean to him.  So he went, no tickets, no hotels but he managed to buy his flights and arrived in Madrid on the 28th February.  Not really knowing where to go Rodriguez headed to Madrid’s training complex and was of course turned down and refused entry.  With nothing else to do Rodriguez sat on a snow cover path and waited, he waited for 5 hours for nothing, as far as he knew.  That was until Mourinho came driving past in the passenger seat of his assistant Rui Faria’s car

‘It was a miracle that I saw him, I saw Abel seated on the side of the road outside the training ground’  Said Mourinho ‘ I told Rui, stop! It’s the guy from the Los Angeles’

When Rodriguez explained the situation, Mourinho couldn’t believe it.  Immediately he sorted Rodriguez out with a room in the teams hotel, superb tickets for the game and dinner with all the coaching staff the next night.  Rodriguez witnessed Mardid beat Barcelona 2-1 and went to the dressing room after where he had his picture taken with Cristiano Ronaldo and Argentina legend Diego Maradona.  About to say his final farewells, Mourinho did not stop there.  He hired Rodriguez on as kit staff and flew him to Manchester for the last 16 Champions league against United.  Rodriguez at this point was not only crying with joy but was regarded as a lucky charm for the team.  On the 5th March, Rodriguez walked out onto Old Trafford and represented Real Madrid as one of the team.  Even his family and friends back home in L.A saw him walking off the pitch after the game had finished.

After the game he spoke to a variety of United and Madrid players and was at one with the team.  The next day he flew back to Madrid and ever the hard worker, stayed behind to unload the kit.

Rodriguez still hasn’t managed to say thank you to Mourinho and this story being told is more than a way of doing that.  What both Rodriguez and Mourinho showed here is a side of football that doesn’t get seen.  This journey has not actually transformed a player or a manager’s life but a fan’s life.  Not only that because as this story is told millions of fans across the world are touched and brought together by why football can be so rewarding.  Even if you are not a fan of Mourinho you can’t help but immensely respect what he did for this man.  Stories like this may happen all the time but just don’t get shared.  It is important that we share and keep stories like this in our lives and football, because there is a lot more to it than just money.

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Morale boosting stories such as this one can have a massive effect on footballers themselves.  To know you play in a sport which can change someone’s life is hugely rewarding.  Underlying this if you played for a manager who you knew did that your respect for him would go through the roof.  If your respect for your manager isn’t already that is.

The reputation of football is one of greed and lack of effort, ‘a gentleman’s sport played by thugs’ some say.  Only stories such as these can give off an impression that football really is much more than 90 minutes on a pitch.  If stories like this are to be forever told, football’s light will shed a much more positive one.  This could reflect massively among the youth.  As role models footballers and managers alike should aptly demonstrate behaviours of correctness and times of magic only they might be able to make possible.  Setting an example like Jose Mourinho will do wonders for the game and its reputation.

According to reports in The Mirror, Everton have been joined by newly-promoted Premier League side Wolverhampton Wanderers in the race to sign Arsenal midfielder Jack Wilshere, rated at £16.2m by Transfermarkt, this summer.

What’s the word, then?

Well, The Mirror says that the Merseyside outfit have already made a huge offer to bring the England international to Goodison Park – a move that 61% of their fans on Twitter backed last month – although they could face competition for his signature from Wolves, with Liverpool and Manchester City also watching developments.

The Mirror says that it is increasingly likely that the 26-year-old will leave the Gunners this summer because of a stand-off between the two parties over a new contract.

The report adds that Wilshere has been handed a take-it-or-leave-it offer of £90,000-a-week wages – not including extra incentive clauses – which is less than the £110,000-a-week deal he is currently on.

How has Wilshere done this season?

The England international looked certain to be on his way out of Arsenal this summer having initially struggled to get in their Premier League squad at the start of the campaign following his return from a loan spell at Bournemouth, but his fortunes have changed in recent months.

Since making his first top flight appearance of the season on October 22, the 26-year-old has only failed to get on the pitch on six occasions, and has shown glimpses of the form he is capable of when he isn’t suffering from injury issues.

Should Everton be worried by Wolves’ interest?

It’s difficult to say.

While the Toffees will know that they should be able to offer a more lucrative financial offer than the newly-promoted club, Wilshere showed that he isn’t afraid to go out and play for a smaller club having joined Bournemouth on loan previously.

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The 26-year-old could see a move to Wolves as a fresh and interesting challenge given the ambition they appear to have, but Everton have that same ambition and want to challenge the top six clubs on a consistent basis.

All in all, Wilshere would probably prefer to join a more established top flight club like Everton than Wolves, but it could be the offers from abroad from the likes of Juventus and AC Milan that the Merseyside outfit should perhaps be more concerned about.