Replacing the irreplaceable is inherently impossible, but Brendan Rodgers sure ain’t going to die wondering. Armed with £75m from the sale of Luis Suárez to Barcelona, Rodgers has filled up the Liverpool team bus with cash, put a cannon on the roof and started firing the Benjamins at any club across Europe with young forwards of repute. Divock Origi and Lazar Markovic are finalising terms close to the Melwood training ground as we speak. Wilfried Bony is on the brink of a £19m move from Swansea City after successfully using the Welsh club as a stepping stone. And Liverpool are reportedly in advanced talks with Chelsea over a £26m deal for Romelu Lukaku. Everton will not be pleased.

Rodgers has also trained his sights on Marco Reus and is hoping a £45m bid will be enough to lift the Borussia Dortmund speedster from his double misery of missing out on Germany’s World Cup-winning campaign through injury and a dream move to Barcelona after the Catalans opted to sign Suárez instead. Arda Turan of Atlético Madrid is also on the radar of the Liverpool manager, who is so caught up in his newfound wealth he will risk further angering Ronald Koeman by returning to Southampton for Jay Rodriguez. Watch out for the handshake snub when Saints head to Anfield on the opening weekend.

Manchester United are close to finalising a £31.8m deal for Arturo Vidal after reaching agreement with Juventus over the multifunctional midfielder. Patrice Evra will head to Turin to help Bianconeri fans come to terms with their loss. The capture of the Chilean will come as great relief to Louis van Gaal, after Ángel di María became the latest player to reject United in favour of Champions League football. The Real Madrid forward is set to agree a £50m deal with Paris Saint-Germain.

Real Madrid have also agreed to let Sami Khedira join Arsenal, so confident are they in adding James Rodríguez and Toni Kroos to their ranks of brilliance. Khedira will signa four-year contract to join his bosom buddy Mesut Özil at the Emirates.

Chelsea have opened discussions with Didier Drogba about a fairytale return to Stamford Bridge. The 36-year-old Ivorian will be offered a coaching role while he sees out his playing days. Ki Sung-yueng will become the latest player to join Aston Villa if Paul Lambert can finalise a deal with Swansea. And Tottenham’s summer spending plans have been dealt a blow after Gylfi Sigurdsson and Michael Dawson turned their noses up at moves to Crystal Palace and Hull City respectively. Mauricio Pochettino has apparently been told he must sell before he buys as he suffers the consequences of Tottenham’s £100m scattergun splurge a year ago. Be warned Brendan!