Liverpool transfer news as Luis Suarez monitored and striker confirms intention to leave

Liverpool transfer news as Luis Suarez (not that one) is linked with a move to Anfield and one current Reds striker has confirmed his intentions to leave the club this summer

Luis Suarez of Sporting CP.(Image: Valter Gouveia/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

Liverpool moved back into the Champions League places and level with Manchester United in the race for the top five spots by beating West Ham United this weekend.

But that hasn't stopped the rumor mill from churning out some more links ahead of the summer. When the time comes, Liverpool will have to be back in the market again to find improvements ahead of the next campaign, something that will prove a lot easier if a place in UEFA's top competition is secured.

Here is the Liverpool.com verdict on the transfer gossip to emerge around the Reds today. We start with a familiar name, though it's not the one you think.

Luis Suarez (Sporting CP)

No, not that one. This Luis Suarez plays for Sporting CP, with a host of clubs, including Liverpool, according to Sports Boom, keeping an eye on him ahead of the summer.

At 28, he is an unlikely target for the Reds, but someone could feasibly snap him up when the season comes to an end. With 29 goals and six assists to date this term, he will be drawing interest.

Taking on the mantle from Viktor Gyokeres, who is starting to find some form for Arsenal, Suarez is clearly an excellent finisher and he has good movement.

Most of his games across his career, however, have come in the second tier in Spain. It would be another big step up for the Colombian to move to the Premier League.

Liverpool.com says: Even if the Reds needed a central forward, which they don't, they wouldn't be likely to move for a player at Suarez's age, who is already well into his peak years.

Signing a winger or two in the summer will be necessary, but Liverpool is much more likely to target someone younger, who has a much bigger scope to improve.

Oakley Cannonier to leave

Young Liverpool forward Oakley Cannonier has confirmed that he will be leaving the club in the summer. For those unfamiliar, he was the quick-thinking ball boy on that night against Barcelona.

"I will leave at the end of the season and am just looking for regular games," Cannonier, now 21, confirmed to The Athletic. "With my age, that is all I want to be doing.

Oakley Cannonier was the ball boy who set Trent Alexander-Arnold up for his quickly-taken corner against Barcelona(Image: Getty Images)

"The last 18 months have been really difficult with no games to look forward to. You train all week and then there is nothing at the end of it. It’s been pretty crap."

Liverpool.com says: The Reds have used younger options ahead of Cannonier and it is the right time for him to move on and seek a new challenge. As he says, he needs regular game time, which he isn't likely to get with the Anfield side.