Liverpool are in talks with Sporting Lisbon regarding a deal for the winger Gelson Martins as the club continue their quest to bring more pace to their attack.

The Anfield club have been in negotiations with Roma about Mohamed Salah, but fear being priced out of a move for the Egypt international and Martins is seen as another viable option.

It has been claimed in Portugal that Martins has a buyout clause of €60m (£52m), but that Sporting’s failure to qualify for the Champions League means they would take €50m euros. The 22-year-old made 44 appearances last season, scoring seven goals and providing 14 assists, and produced a particularly impressive individual performance against Real Madrid at the Bernabéu in the Champions League in September.

Jürgen Klopp is known to want to add more pace to his side for next term. It is understood Liverpool have also been monitoring Keita Baldé at Lazio and Bayern Munich’s Douglas Costa in addition to Salah and Martins.

Roma’s valuation of Salah is believed to be far in excess of Liverpool’s, who had a £28m bid rejected last week,with the Serie A club asking for more than the €40m being reported in Italy. Roma’s American chairman, James Pallotta, told the US radio station SiriusXM: “For the moment, there is nothing with Liverpool. We’ll see what to do.” However, that did not prevent Salah, away on international duty, allowing himself to be pictured with two fans holding Liverpool shirts.

Klopp is keen to significantly strengthen his squad this summer in preparation for Champions League football and has been linked with a move for the Southampton centre-back Virgil van Dijk.

It is understood the Holland international has made Anfield his preferred destination, should he leave St Mary’s, although Saints have asked the Premier League to investigate an alleged illegal approach from Liverpool for the player.

Steven Gerrard believes the 25-year-old’s capture would be a major boost for the club. The former Liverpool captain said at an event in Belfast: “I’d love to see him in a red shirt. I’m a huge fan. I thought he was fantastic at Celtic and I thought we should have had a go for him back then. It will cost us a few more quid but I think he is a piece of the jigsaw that would be very welcome and very big for this team.”