Liverpool have £33.5m bid for Portugal international rejected

Liverpool have reportedly had a £33.5 million bid for Sporting Lisbon midfielder Joao Mario rejected, according to A Bola via the Daily Express.

A story in the Portuguese publication claims that Reds boss Jurgen Klopp wants to bring the Portugal international, who was part of his nation’s triumph at the 2016 European Championship finals earlier this summer, to Anfield as a replacement for Joe Allen, who joined Stoke City for £13 million last month.

But the player’s father, Jose Mario Eduardo, has hinted that Sporting are unlikely to accept an offer below £50 million, having already turned down proposals from the Premier League and Serie A side, Inter Milan.

Klopp is looking to strengthen his squad following an eighth-placed finish in the Premier League last season, and has already brought in six players this summer, including goalkeepers Loris Karius and Alex Manninger, defenders Joel Matip and Ragnar Klavan, and forwards Georginio Wijnaldum and Sadio Mane.