Liverpool have formalised their interest in Alberto Moreno with an offer worth £16.2m (€20m) for the Sevilla left-back.

The manager, Brendan Rodgers, has prioritised a new left-back for this summer and, having considered an approach to Chelsea for Ryan Bertrand, has made Moreno his preferred option. The 21-year-old enjoyed a fine season with the Europa League winners and has been included in Spain’s preliminary 30-man squad for the World Cup.

Moreno has been linked with several clubs in recent months including Chelsea, Napoli, who had an offer for the defender rejected in January, and Real Madrid. Marca reported last week that Moreno wanted to join Real, who are expected to part company with Fábio Coentrão this summer, and that Sevilla may delay a decision on his future until after the World Cup should he make the final cut under Vicente del Bosque.

But Liverpool have moved first with a formal offer as they attempt to secure proven quality for next season’s return to the Champions League and tempt Sevilla into a swift agreement. The Anfield club’s bid is believed to be worth €20m in total, a figure that includes Liverpool midfielder Suso as a makeweight.

The 20-year-old Spaniard spent last season on loan with the La Liga side Almería and has been offered to Sevilla on a similar basis.

Jon Flanagan excelled at left-back during Liverpool’s rise to second place in the Premier League last season but Rodgers views the player’s long-term future on his natural right side. The Liverpool manager also decided against keeping Aly Cissokho following his season-long loan from Valencia and has injury concerns over José Enrique.

Liverpool are continuing to negotiate with Bayer Leverkusen and Southampton for Emre Can and Adam Lallana respectively, although the south coast club’s £30m valuation on the England international is proving prohibitive. A deal for Can, the Germany Under-21 midfielder, is also complicated. Liverpool have informed Leverkusen they will meet the £10m release clause in the 20-year-old’s contract but Bayer are hoping to convince Can to stay while Bayern Munich, who have a buy-back option on the player they sold for £4.5m last summer, want him to continue his development in Germany before re-signing him next year.

Rodgers has also been linked with Michel Vorm, his former goalkeeper at Swansea City, but Liverpool are unlikely to move for the 30-year-old despite Lukasz Fabianski’s arrival at the Liberty Stadium on a free transfer from Arsenal.