Liverpool round-up: £118m Coutinho bid rejected; Seri not a target; Van Dijk hopes boost

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Liverpool have immediately rejected a bid from Barcelona for attacking midfielder Philippe Coutinho, The Times journalist Paul Joyce has said on Twitter. The bid is believed to have been worth around £118 million including add-ons but has been instantly rejected out of hand by Liverpool club bosses.

The Reds are adamant that they will not be sold despite an official transfer request from the Brazilian. Now, it will remain to be seen if the latest rejection is enough to convince Barcelona to look elsewhere or if they will come calling with yet another bid for the Brazilian before the transfer window shuts in two weeks time.

That would compound a summer of failure after the club missed out on Red Bull Leipzig midfielder Naby Keita. Despite reports from the Guardian, The Times believe that Liverpool will not move for Nice midfielder Jean Michael Seri as an alternative. They do say that Liverpool are considering their options, but Seri is not a target.

Seri has previously been linked with the likes of Arsenal and Barcelona but he clearly does not fit the profile that Liverpool are looking for. At 26-years-old, he may not fit the Fenway Sports Group model of looking for players with a high resale value.

In other news, The Times have reported on a more positive headline for Liverpool as they say that Southampton will be forced to sell players before they can spend any more money this summer. Whilst that does not directly impact the Anfield club, it may force them to reconsider their stance on Virgil Van Dijk.

Yahoo Sport had claimed that Southampton would ignore the wishes of the player and reject any offer from Liverpool, but this news may make them reconsider. With two weeks left until deadline day, there is still plenty of time for further twists and turns.