Here is your Liverpool morning digest for Thursday, 9 June.
Liverpool approach over £85m Darwin Nunez transfer amid Manchester United interest
Liverpool will not be drawn into a bidding war with Manchester United over in-demand Benfica forward Darwin Nunez, writes Ian Doyle.
Nunez is among a number of players on the Reds' shortlist as they look to continue evolving their attack with Sadio Mane and Takumi Minamino likely to follow Divock Origi in departing this summer.
While Liverpool have yet to make an official approach for the 22-year-old Uruguay international, it is understood Benfica will demand €100million (£85m) for a player they bought for €24m two years ago from Spanish side Almeria, who also negotiated a 20% sell-on clause.
READ MORE: Takumi Minamino Liverpool transfer stance as four clubs express interest in £17m move
READ MORE: Liverpool reject 'joke' Sadio Mane transfer offer and send Bayern Munich message
Nunez is attracting the interest of several clubs, with Manchester United, Newcastle United and Atletico Madrid among those reported to be considering a move. It is suggested in Portugal the player would favour a move to Anfield.
Liverpool will refuse to become involved in an auction that could see them pay above their accepted value for the forward. Nevertheless, any final fee is likely to challenge or even surpass the club record £75m the Reds paid to take Virgil van Dijk from Southampton in January 2018.
Liverpool will raise substantial funds for any move with the expected sales of Minamino and Mane. The former has interest from several suitors and is available for £17m, while the latter is being courted by Bayern Munich with Liverpool holding out for around £42.75m.
'On the bench' - Gary Lineker sends blunt Trent Alexander-Arnold message during England draw
Pundit Gary Lineker has criticised Gareth Southgate's decision to leave Liverpool defender Trent Alexander-Arnold on the bench as England struggled to create against Germany, writes Hannah Pinnock.
The Three Lions looked to bounce back from a 1-0 defeat to Hungary in the Nations League on Saturday, but found themselves a goal down against Germany on the 50-minute mark on Tuesday. Southgate made a number of substitutions throughout the game, with Jude Bellingham, Jack Grealish and Jarrod Bowen all called from the bench.
Alexander-Arnold, though, remained an unused substitute as the England boss instead kept his faith in Manchester City's Kyle Walker - a decision Lineker disagreed with as he voiced his frustrations on social media.
He wrote on Twitter: "England trail and continue to struggle to pass the ball to each other and create anything, while the best passer in English football remains on the bench. That would be Trent Alexander-Arnold if you weren’t sure."
England did, however, find an equaliser through Harry Kane. The Tottenham forward was brought down and stepped up to score from the penalty spot.
Lineker added after Kane's goal: "50 goals for Harry Kane. Fabulous achievement. England play so much better when they have a go. Too much talent to play overly cautious and it doesn’t play to their strengths."
