Liverpool hope to make Rickie Lambert their first summer signing after lodging a surprise £4m bid for the Southampton and England striker.

Lambert, 32, has emerged as Brendan Rodgers’ third transfer target at Southampton – along with the captain, Adam Lallana, and the defender Dejan Lovren – with the Liverpool manager keen to inject different options into an attack behind Luis Suárez and Daniel Sturridge next season. Anfield officials submitted an initial offer of £4m plus add-ons for the Liverpool-born forward on Thursday and aim to conclude the deal before Lambert departs for Miami as part of England’s World Cup squad on Sunday.

Lambert was released by Liverpool as a schoolboy and worked his way through the leagues at Blackpool, Macclesfield Town, Stockport County, Rochdale and Bristol Rovers before reaching the Premier League and flourishing with Southampton.

The striker is unlikely to be first choice at Liverpool but the chance to return to the club he supported as a boy and to the city where his family lives would be a huge attraction for him.

The striker has scored 106 goals in 207 appearances for Southampton since joining the south coast club in 2009 and is under contract at St Mary’s until 2016. Liverpool’s interest, however, is a surprise given Lambert’s age – the club have targeted much younger players under the ownership of Fenway Sports Group – and Rodgers’ past insistence on perfecting his preferred playing style rather than reverting to a “Plan B”.

That said, Rodgers claimed earlier this year that Lambert is a far better footballer than he is given credit for. The Liverpool manager said: “He’s probably never got the recognition for what a really good footballer he is. He is probably seen as a traditional big number nine, a typical British striker, but he’s one of the most accomplished footballers I’ve seen. Look at his touch and the different types of goals he scores; he is a terrific player.”

Liverpool have made it known that they are open to offers for the Spanish forward Iago Aspas.