Thomas Lemar remains Jurgen Klopp’s leading candidate to replace Philippe Coutinho, but Liverpool have shelved their pursuit of the France star after Monaco hiked their asking price to £90m. Having indicated they would accept a lower fee for Lemar, Monaco informed clubs at the start of the transfer window that they were fixed on securing £90 million for his services — the amount Arsenal were prepared to pay for the 22-year-old last summer.

This has led Liverpool to stand back from bidding: their valuation of Lemar is significantly lower, around £60m. Their stance is led by Klopp, who wants to reinvest the £142m received from Barcelona for Coutinho wisely and is prepared to wait until summer to try and secure better value in the market.