Liverpool round-up: Michael Keane deal close; Theo Hernandez move off; James Milner discusses top four hopes

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In what will be seen as great news by many Liverpool fans, the Mirror claim that Liverpool are nearing an agreement over the transfer of Burnley defender Michael Keane, for a fee likely to be in the region of £25 million. They claim that talks over personal terms are nearing a close.

Everton and Tottenham are also interested in the former Manchester United youth product, but it seems that the England international could choose Anfield to make the next step in his career as he hopes to establish himself for club and country. He would likely compete with Dejan Lovren for a starting place alongside Joel Matip.

However, one potential deal does seem to be off the cards as Marca claim that Atletico Madrid left-back Theo Hernandez is very close to putting pen to paper on a move to their city rivals Real Madrid, despite Liverpool registering an interest in the player in February alongside Bayern Munich.

The 19-year-old has been hugely impressive whilst on loan at Deportivo Alaves, and has now earned a move to the Bernabeu with it looking unlikely that he would displace Filipe Luis as first choice under Diego Simeone. With a fee worth £25 million, the exciting, quick left-back may have been too similar to Alberto Moreno for some’s liking if he moved to Anfield for such a price.

That means that the Reds will be forced to look elsewhere for competition for vice-captain James Milner, and after missing a penalty against Southampton at the weekend, he has spoken out to discuss how he would feel if his team missed out on a top four finish this season as he told Sky Sports:

“Sick. This is a team and a club that needs to be in the Champions League. We will be in Europe, but the Champions League is where everyone wants to play… In the games we haven’t got the points we wanted, we have dominated, but we’ve dropped points where we shouldn’t have done. We do that job better and we are fighting for the title, never mind fighting to get into the top four.”

Milner has been a consistent performer for Jurgen Klopp as a makeshift left-back but it’s clear that he is not a long term solution to the position, especially at Champions League level if the club do make it into the competition next season.

Featured Image: All rights reserved by Craig Ballantyne.