Liverpool: Renewed bid for Dortmund starlet; Balotelli tells star to join him; Gerrard played his final game?

By Sam Leveridge

After failing in an attempt to prize Christian Pulisic from Dortmund to Merseyside in the summer, Jurgen Klopp is preparing to go back in for the young American with an improved offer in January, claim the Daily Mail. The £14 million bid was rejected by the Germans, and will have to increase given his good form which has seen him score two in eight so far this season.

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The youngster has been touted as a possible alternative to Phillipe Coutinho as he favours the left hand side of attack in a similar way to the Brazilian, but Klopp is believed to see him as a good rotation option to add depth and help develop him as a player.

After speculation linking unwanted defender Mamadou Sakho with a move to Nice, former striker Mario Balotelli has spoken to reveal that he has encouraged the Frenchman to join him at his new club as they make a surprise title challenge in Ligue 1. He told the French media:

“I speak with him from time to time. I said to him: ‘What a waste, a player like you is not playing’. He has to leave. I said to him: ‘If you want, come to Nice’. I am going to speak to him about it. In January, it would be good.”

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Sakho turned down a host of clubs, including West Brom, Stoke and Besiktas, when they made loan offers in August, but looks set to move away in January with Nice a possible destination.

Whilst Balotelli is at one end of the spectrum for former players, at the other end is Steven Gerrard, who may well have played his final game of his career after LA Galaxy were knocked out of the MLS play-offs by Colorado Rapids. The tie went to penalties and Gerrard scored his past former Everton and Manchester United goalkeeper Tim Howard, but former Chelsea man Ashley Cole and former Tottenham player Giovanni Dos Santos both failed to convert.

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With Gerrard’s contract expiring this summer and no renewal on the horizon, it seems that the Anfield hero will return to Europe with a possible return as a player to a European club suggested, whilst retirement and beginning his coaching career is an alternative option.

Featured Image: All rights reserved by Carlos Navarrete.