Barcelona will make a £130million bid for Philippe Coutinho this week.
And the Catalan club are confident that they will land the Liverpool playmaker this time.
The Brazil star was a Barca target all last summer, but the Reds would not budge and refused to sell.
Coutinho, 25, made it clear he wanted to quit Anfield for the Nou Camp, but Liverpool held on to their prize asset.
The La Liga leaders will now try again – and Spanish sources believe that they will get their man. Liverpool have just spent a world -record £75million on defender Virgil van Dijk – but boss Jurgen Klopp has said he does not have to sell to recoup those funds.
And he will not want to lose a key player just as the Reds are building a sustained challenge for a top-four place in the Premier League.
The Champions League knockout stages also start in February with a clash against Porto.
And Klopp has an important FA Cup third-round tie against Merseyside rivals Everton on Friday night at Anfield.
But, if Coutinho, whose form for the Reds this season has been outstanding, insists on leaving for Barcelona, then Liverpool may find it very hard to stand in his way.
Liverpool have agreed a deal to sign Virgil van Dijk from Southampton, the Anfield club have announced. The deal is understood to be worth £75million, a world-record fee for a defender.
Man Utd’s dismal run of results in December continued with a third consecutive league draw as they were held 0-0 at home to Southampton, dropping to third in the Premier League standings below Chelsea.
United had top scorer Romelu Lukaku carried off on a stretcher early in the game and looked stricken of any thrust or creativity in attack, ending the month with four wins from nine games in all competitions and without a victory in their last four.
Jose Mourinho’s side began brightly and Lukaku came close to giving them the lead in the third minute when he headed a Juan Mata cross over the bar, while Jesse Lingard also narrowly missed the target before the interval with a flicked header.
Paul Pogba had a late strike ruled out as he knocked Anthony Martial’s rolling shot in from an offside position when the ball looked destined to hit the post, while Southampton were not far from nicking a first win in eight games when Shane Long saw his shot turned over the crossbar by the toe of David de Gea.
Paul Pogba’s touch may have denied Manchester United a goal in their 0-0 draw with Southampton on Saturday.
With just under 10 minutes remaining at Old Trafford, Pogba touched home from close range after Nemanja Matic’s turn and shot, but linesman Richard West correctly flagged for an offside on the France midfielder.
But replays showed the ball may have been heading home off the far post if Pogba had touched it, with Southampton goalkeeper Alex McCarthy seemingly unable to get a strong enough touch on the ball to divert it away from goal.
United then failed to create any clear chances late on, and the result means Jose Mourinho’s side are down to third in the Premier League after Chelsea moved up to second, while Saints are in 13th, two points off the drop zone.
Manchester City can open up a 17-point gap on United if they beat Crystal Palace on New Year’s Eve at Selhurst Park.
Was the ball heading in? Judge for yourself by viewing the video above
Paul Pogba was flagged offside for turning the ball home from close range in Manchester United’s 0-0 draw with Southampton, but if he had left the ball, would it have gone over the line anyway? Judge for yourself…
Referee Craig Pawson waved play on after the ball hit Maya Yoshida’s hand in the penalty area in Southampton’s 0-0 draw with Manchester United, but were the visitors lucky?
Manchester United were denied a penalty in their 0-0 draw with Southampton on Saturday, but were they unlucky?
After Paul Pogba had found Jesse Lingard in the penalty area, Maya Yoshida looked to have handled the ball as the Manchester United man juggled it up to find space, but referee Craig Pawson waved play on.
Replays show the ball did strike Yoshida’s hand, but Pawson deemed it to be unintentional.
However, after the game defender Yoshida admitted he was fortunate not to concede a penalty, saying: “Sometimes we get decisions from the referee and sometimes we get bad luck from them. Today we got good luck.”
Should Ashley Young have seen red for elbow on Dusan Tadic?
Ashley Young could find himself in hot water with the FA after appearing to elbow Southampton winger Dusan Tadic in the midriff during Manchester United’s 0-0 draw with Southampton at Old Trafford.
Jose Mourinho’s side were left frustrated by the Saints as United failed to score at home for the first time in 20 games in all competitions, but the hosts could have been reduced to 10 men had referee Craig Pawson spotted Young’s altercation with Tadic.
United are set to be without Romelu Lukaku for the visit to Everton on Monday after he suffered a head injury, but the Red Devils may be about to lose another first-team player for a period of time.
It remains to be seen whether the FA decide to charge Young with violent conduct with the incident unlikely to have been included in Pawson’s match report.
The flash point is set to be discussed by former Premier League referee Dermot Gallagher as part of Ref Watch on Sky Sports News on Monday, from 10am.
Watch the incident by clicking on the video above and decide for yourself if Young is guilty of violent conduct.
Arsenal have joined Manchester United and Tottenham in the race to sign Bordeaux star Malcom. According to Goal’s Brazilian site, Ora Bolas, Bordeaux want £44m for the 20-year-old. And they say the Premier League big boys are chasing the highly-rated winger. Malcom reportedly has a gentlemen’s agreement with the club that they will allow him to leave next summer, providing their asking price is met. Jose Mourinho has sent scouts to watch Malcom on numerous occasions and they have been impressed with the youngster.
Mourinho says the Red Devils should have had a penalty against Southampton. United were held to a 0-0 draw at Old Trafford yesterday in a frustrating affair for the Red Devils. And Mourinho was annoyed after the draw, with the Red Devils boss claiming United should have had a penalty at Old Trafford when the ball hit Maya Yoshida on the arm. “I think it is also a disappointing afternoon for Craig [Pawson, the referee] because he’s a fantastic referee, one of the best in Europe,” said Mourinho. "We missed easy chances but I’m really unhappy with the penalty, not with Pawson’s performance. "Today I think Craig had a good performance, it was a big decision to make from Craig. “I’m happy with the players’ attitude, the players’ desires and I’m very happy with my place.”
Mourinho says Romelu Lukaku will be out for at least two games. The United star was stretchered off after just 10 minutes of the Red Devils’ draw with Southampton. Lukaku suffered a clash of heads with Saints centre-back Wesley Hoedt and needed oxygen on the pitch. And Mourinho has confirmed that the Belgium international will be sidelined for at least two games. “When you see a player leave the pitch like he did, it is usually two games at least,” Mourinho told BT Sport.