Liverpool insist Philippe Coutinho has not asked to leave the club despite increased confidence in Barcelona that a deal for the Brazilian can be struck.

Liverpool have rejected Barcelona's opening bid and told the Spanish club their star midfielder is not for sale.

Barcelona's sporting director Robert Fernandez and lawyer Andre Cury, who helped to sign Neymar, are understood to have held discussions with Coutinho's representatives in London prior to linking up with the team in Washington.

Philippe Coutinho, on tour with Liverpool in Germany on Thursday, is wanted by Barcelona

Spanish radio reports have since claimed Coutinho has asked to leave Liverpool though this has been denied by the Anfield club.

Barcelona midfielder Ivan Rakitic has also been linked as a potential makeweight in negotiations but the player's camp have told Sportsmail they are not aware of any such negotiations and the 29-year-old is very happy at Barcelona after signing a new four-year contract in March.

Manchester United scouts are due to attend Antwerp against Anderlecht on Friday night.

They could potentially meet in the Champions League though United are also maintaining a watching brief on 22-year-old midfielder Leander Dendoncker.

The fixture is the opening league game of the Belgian season and will also be attended by scouts from AC Milan and Red Bull Leipzig - both of whom are also in the market for a central midfielder.

United, meanwhile, are continuing discussions with Ander Herrera's representatives over a new contract.

Newcastle are keen on West Ham goalkeeper Adrian.

The Spaniard is keen to play regular football and knows the arrival of Joe Hart on loan will limit his chances - despite Darren Randolph being sold to Middlesbrough.

Crystal Palace have shown an interest in Adrian but linking up with Rafa Benitez at Newcastle is appealing while the North East side may also look to put Karl Darlow into the deal as West Ham will want cover before agreeing to let the 30-year-old go.

Newcastle remain keen on Everton midfielder James McCarthy who has been left out of Ronald Koeman's squad to play Ruzomberok at Goodison Park. Everton have completed the signing of Newcastle defender Lewis Gibson, 17, on a three-year deal.

West Ham goalkeeper Adrian is wanted by Newcastle and Crystal Palace

Lazio forward Balde Diao Keita is ready to snub West Ham to stay in Italy

Juventus have made a £17.8million offer for West Ham and Inter Milan target Keita Balde Diao.

The 22-year-old Spanish-born forward wants to stay in Serie A despite West Ham matching his club Lazio's valuation.

Inter are understood to have offered cash plus Eder but the Italy international refused to go to Lazio.

Lazio value Senegal international Keita at £22m.

Juventus CEO Giuseppe Marotta confirmed a bid had been lodged and confirmed interest in Paris Saint-Germain midfielder Blaise Matuidi.

'We have made an offer for Keita and he will now evaluate it,' Marotta told Mediaset Premium. Asked about Matuidi, Marotta added: 'He is an option because we are seeking an experienced player for our midfield.'

Derby County have joined Sunderland in the bid to sign Ross McCormack from Aston Villa on loan.

The 30-year-old has attracted enquiries from other Championship sides though Villa are looking for a loan fee.

Sunderland signed Lewis Grabban from Bournemouth and goalkeeper Jason Steele from Blackburn Rovers on Wednesday but still want McCormack too.

Chelsea defender Michael Hector is poised to join Hull City on loan.

Coach Leonid Slutsky has tapped into his connections at Stamford Bridge to fend off competition from Nottingham Forest.

Hector made 22 appearances while on loan at Bundesliga club Eintract Frankfurt last season and would join Ondrej Mazuch and Callum Burton who signed for Hull on Wednesday.

Hull have already signed full back Ola Aina from Chelsea for the season and hope to add another two attacking players before the Championship season kicks off next week.

The 25-year-old Hector was signed by Chelsea from Reading in a surprise deadline-day deal on September 1, 2015. This will be the 14th loan spell of his career since 2009.

Chelsea centre back Michael Hector is set to join Championship side Hull City on loan

Real Betis are hopeful of signing Middlesbrough's Gaston Ramirez.

Talks between Betis, the player's representatives and Boro are continuing with a £4m fee being offered, considerably less than the money Leicester City were willing to offer in January.

Italian side Atalanta have also proposed an £8m fee plus add-ons for Boro's Dutch midfielder Marten de Roon.

Boro have agreed a deal for Ashley Fletcher from West Ham for £6.5m and are still looking to offload Stewart Downing to Birmingham with Ryan Shotton possibly moving in the opposite direction.

Stoke City are considering former Germany international defender Serdar Tasci.

The 30-year-old centre back is at Spartak Moscow and available for around £3m.

He was due to join Southampton last season but the deal fell through.

Stoke are considering options with Ryan Shawcross coming into the final year of his contract and emerging as a target for other Premier League rivals including West Bromwich Albion, Leicester City and Newcastle.

Manager Mark Hughes remains intent on bringing back Bruno Martins Indi from Porto but has been seeking out alternatives.

Bayern Munich have told Renato Sanches they only want him to go out on loan for one season.

AC Milan are keen to strike a deal for the former Manchester United target but Bayern CEO Karl-Heinz Rummenigge has told the player one season away may be enough to kick-start his career.

'I had a long talk here in Singapore, but he does not really want to go, he wants to play, that's the most important thing, we share this opinion,' Rummenigge said.

Renato Sanches may be leaving Bayern Munich for a season as he seeks more playing time

West Bromwich Albion are weighing up alternatives after Middlesbrough underlined their valuation of defender Ben Gibson.

The Championship side value the former England U21 international at £30m and have rebuffed bids from Albion of £21m.

Manager Tony Pulis said: 'Ben is a smashing player and I am sure Middlesbrough will want to keep him. They'll be looking to get promoted again and you can understand they do not want to get rid of Ben.

'We have had enquiries for Ben and we've had enquiries for other players as well. We'll see how those enquiries go, but I think it's going to be very hard to get Ben out of Middlesbrough.'

Liverpool and Chelsea have also discussed 24-year-old Gibson as an alternative option to Southampton's Virgil van Dijk.