TRANSFER NEWS

transfer news

Liverpool continued their strong start to pre-season with a 5-0 win over Fleetwood Town on Wednesday evening, with new signing Sadio Mane impressing again.

But just because the summer friendlies are underway it doesn't mean Premier League clubs have settled on their current squads.

On the contrary, numerous clubs are furiously trying to add to their ranks.

Arsenal still need a striker, Manchester City could do with a new defender and every English top flight club has got huge spending power.

So what do Thursday's papers have for us in terms of transfer news?

Here are the top stories from Thursday's Mirror...

Everton will slap a world-record fee for a defender - and an Englishman - on John Stones’ head. The Merseysiders are preparing for an imminent bid from Manchester City as Pep Guardiola aims to step up his Sky Blue revolution. The current record for an Englishman is the £49million City paid Liverpool for Raheem Sterling last summer, while Chelsea centre-back David Luiz cost Paris Saint-Germain £1m more two years ago. But Everton will tell City that negotiations will only START at that £50m figure, and the fee could be pushed higher than that.

Antonio conte

Antonio Conte was given a boost on his first day at Chelsea with £25million Santos striker Gabigol confirming his interest in joining the Blues. Chelsea chiefs have been working hard to bring in the Italian’s transfer targets, ahead of the club’s pre-season tour of the USA later this month. They remain hopeful of landing Gabigol - real name Gabriel Barbosa - despite the fact that Juventus have already registered their interest in the highly-rated 19-year-old. The Italian champions have made an approach to his Brazilian club to secure his services. Chelsea, however, already have a £25m offer on the table in a bid to tempt the teenager to London. Santos are trying to persuade Barbosa to extend his contract for another two years from 2019 to 2021. But the striker is said to be interested in a move to England - despite his concerns at adapting to the Premier League and playing regularly.

Benteke(skysports.com)

Christian Benteke is ready to stay and fight for his place at Liverpool. It comes after they effectively priced Belgium international striker Benteke out of a move by demanding a sky-high price for him. The Reds have told suitors West Ham and Crystal Palace they want to recoup the full £32.5m they paid Aston Villa for the player last summer. That stance has scared off both clubs, and left Benteke convinced to try to win over manager Jurgen Klopp.

Steve Bruce is stepping up his chase for Wales' Euro 2016 star Hal Robson Kanu. Hull are in talks with free agent Robson Kanu and are vying with Premier League rivals Middlesbrough, Burnley, Swansea and Watford, while the striker has received a £100,000-a-week offer from China. Bruce plans further talks with Robson Kanu when Hull return later this week from their pre-season training camp in the Algarve.

Burnley have suffered another knock back in the transfer market after Charlton rejected their £900,000 offer for goalkeeper Nick Pope. The Clarets' failed bid for Pope is their third rejection this week. They also been knocked back in their attempts to sign Dale Stephens from Brighton and Jeff Hendrick from Derby.

Arsene Wenger has been put on red alert after Wolfsburg hinted they are ready to sell Julian Draxler. Gunners boss Wenger has a long standing interest in 22-year-old Draxler and the German international could solve Arsenal’s search for a forward. Wolfsburg failed to make the Champions League, their sponsors Volkswagen are making cutbacks and Draxler wants to play in Europe next season.

Tottenham are considering a move for Barcelona winger Cristian Tello. Tello is in Spurs' sights with Mauricio Pochettino keen to further improve his attacking options after striker Vincent Janssen's arrival by landing a speedy winger with an eye for goal.