Rumour Recycling: Liverpool Rejected by Euro Winner

Hey, remember when Liverpool were triggering all the Portuguese buyout clauses back in May? And how it all happened and the squad is basically Porto's now? Yeah, all that accurate reporting originated in Portuguese publication A Bola, and none of it turned out as promised. Thus, you'll forgive our scepticism when Iberian sources claim that Liverpool had a £33.5m bid for  João Mário turned down by Sporting earlier this summer. This time around, however, it is Diario de Noticias who are doing the reporting, and there are actual quotes from an actual source close to the player, namely his father.

Given the profile of midfielders that have been consistently linked with the Reds this summer, the move makes sense, as Mário is a central midfielder of some goalscoring prowess, notching eleven goals and fifteen assists in the past two seasons. He was also a crucial cog for the Portuguese Euro winners this summer, starting six of their seven games on the selecção das quinas' thrilling road to the gold.

Now that Georginio Wijnaldum having been brought in, it seems highly unlikely that Klopp is interested in another offensively minded central midfielder this window. The competition for the player - the reason these quotes are popping up at the moment is that the player is currently linked with Real Madrid, Internazionale, PSG and Manchester United - and the club's willingness to bid big bucks are both encouraging indications that Liverpool remain a force to be reckoned with in the European madhouse that is the 2016 summer transfer window.