A little over a week on from concluding their successful Premier League campaign, champions Liverpool can start planning for their title defence in 2020-21.
The Reds set a number of records en route to securing first place in the English top flight for the first time in 30 years, but Jurgen Klopp has stressed the importance of pushing on next time around.
Bringing in a new centre-back appears to be a top priority for Klopp, with Dejan Lovren heading to Zenit St Petersburg last week, while speculation over a deal for Bayern Munich midfielder Thiago Alcantara continues to rumble on.
Monday morning's Liverpool transfer talk news roundup:
Aston Villa 'weighing up Divock Origi approach'
© Reuters
Bringing in new players is all well and good, but Liverpool will also have to offload certain fringe players to balance their books and maintain a healthy competition for places.
Divock Origi falls into that category and has allegedly emerged as a transfer target for Aston Villa.
The 25-year-old still has four years left to run on his contract at Anfield but has been nothing more than a bit-part player in recent seasons.
According to The Sun, Villa are keen to strike a deal for Origi and the Belgium international is after regular football ahead of the rearranged Euro 2020.
Arsenal join Liverpool, Manchester City in Diego Carlos race?
© Reuters
Liverpool have been tipped to move for Sevilla centre-back Diego Carlos, although it appears that they face competition from Premier League rivals Arsenal and Manchester City.
The 27-year-old is believed to have a £68m release clause in his contract, but the La Liga side may consider lowering that to the £50m mark.
The Telegraph claims that it may now be a three-way battle for the Brazilian defender, who has yet to be capped at senior international level.
Carlos chalked up 35 La Liga appearances for Sevilla in the most recent campaign as Julen Lopetegui's side finished fourth in the table and ensured Champions League qualification.
Liverpool 'very likely' to sign Bayern Munich midfielder Thiago Alcantara
© Reuters
Bayern confirmed last week that Thiago is looking to leave the club and Liverpool are said to have made some progress in their efforts to sign the midfielder.
Reports coming out of Spain indicate that the Merseyside outfit are the clear favourites to sign the Spain international.
However, it has been reiterated that the German champions have no interest in parting ways with the 29-year-old for anything less than their valuation, believed to be around £27m.
Manchester United and Paris Saint-Germain have also been linked with an approach for Thiago, but Liverpool are said to remain as the clear favourites to sign him.
Daniel Lewis
