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Hope of returning to the quartet of the strongest clubs of the English Premier League nurturing Liverpool has offered 23.5 million euros for Donetsk's Shakhtar star Henrikh Mkhitaryan.
The attacking midfielder of the Armenian national team would be the main, but by no means the only purchase of the team, which finished seventh in the national championships last season. Mkhitaryan is the main target
Mkhitaryan's contract with Shakhtar includes the exact amount of the offer made by Liverpool, so Ukrainian team coach Mircea Lucescu had to admit that no formal obstacles could be created for the deal. Although several other European giants, including Borussia Dortmund and Juventus, have not given up hopes of attracting the talented player. Liverpool's consistent work makes it a strong favorite.
An active market participant
Mkhitaryan is by no means the only future newcomer to Liverpool: the team was previously joined by free agent defender Kolo Toure, as well as an official agreement was reached with Celta Vigo for forward Iago Aspas, whose price will be around 10 million euros. They will be joined by young Sporting Lisbon defender Tiago Ilori.
In the near future, the English club hopes to acquire two more highly rated players on the market: 20-year-old Sevilla attacking midfielder Luis Alberto and goalkeeper Simon Mignolet from Sunderland.
Alberto wore Barcelona's reserve team jersey last season and scored eleven goals in 37 appearances. Liverpool will pay, depending on the data, 8-9 million euros for him.
In addition, it is expected to sign a contract with the 12 million euro worth goalkeeper Mignolet this week. The ambitious Belgian goalkeeper, who does not hide his desire to compete in the 2014 World Cup final stage, would strive to replace long-time main goalkeeper Pepe Reina, who is still attracting interest from Barcelona.
Looking for a defender as well
If these players are acquired, Liverpool's management would have one task left - to strengthen the midfield defense. The main contender for this position is Greek Kyriakos Papadopoulos representing Schalke, but the English are concerned about a serious injury he suffered last year and has not appeared on the field since. For this reason, the Liverpool team would like to reduce the 15 million euro compensation demanded by Schalke.
If negotiations with the Greek national team player fail, an alternative option is considered - the Ajax vice-captain Toby Alderweireld, whose price could be around 14 million euros.
Suarez's future - still unclear
Additional decisions regarding the composition may also be made if team leader Luis Suarez is sold, actively sought after by Real Madrid. It is said that the value of such a deal could be around 50 million euros, but it is unclear whether the Spanish will choose Napoli star Edinson Cavani, valued at a similar amount.
At the moment, Suarez, who represents the Uruguayan national team in the Confederations Cup and scored against the Spanish national team on Sunday, has said so far that he is happy in Liverpool but has not hidden his disappointment over strained relations with the local media and resulting incidents.
