At first I did not pay much attention when reports were floating around that Liverpool may be planning on selling Raul Meireles as he is surplus to requirements at Anfield or because he needed to be sold in order to fund the transfers of new signings this summer.

Looking at the first point, I do not understand why some people would think that he is surplus to requirements? Raul was after all voted PFA Fans’ Player of the Year after his impressive debut season for Liverpool. It took him a while to get going but that was largely due to the fact that Roy Hodgson had no idea where to play him! Kenny Dalglish then stepped in and we saw the best of Raul as he banged in goals for fun in consecutive matches. Raul has seemed to pick up niggling injuries through out the season but that is not reason enough to want to sell the player.

Now the debate is that Dalglish has bought in Jordan Henderson this summer and is still reportedly eyeing Charlie Adam. Where then would Meireles fit in if Liverpool signed Adam? There will be a lot of competition for places in central midfield as we have the likes of Gerrard, Lucas and Spearing already competing for places. Coupled with the fact that we could have Alberto Aquilani returning to Liverpool if no one buys him this summer.

If we are looking at the issue of selling Meireles to raise transfer funds then it could make sense as Meireles is more marketable and easier to sell than Aquilani. That is based on the assumption that FSG had included the sale of Aquilani as part of their summer spending budget. So to balance the books; sell Meireles as we will find a buyer for him and keep Aquilani as we will get more money by selling Meireles. It would not surprise me at all if this is what FSG are thinking as it makes business sense. Whether it makes sense on the field, that is another question.

Liverpool continue their pursuit of Valencia's Juan Mata, but will have to wait until he is finished participating with Spanish U21 side in the U21 UEFA European Championships according to his father as stated in a Metro article on Thursday June 23rd.

That same article shows that Mata and his agent will listen to an offer from Liverpool, though Barcelona have also expressed interest in the playmaker.

Reports have also surfaced from CaughtOffside.com that suggest Manchester United are set to get involved with a £23million bid for the Winger in hopes of taking him out from under Liverpool's nose.

Liverpool have rejected a cash plus player deal for their midfielder Raul Meireles from Juventus.

The Serie A outfit proposed a deal that would see former Arsenal target Felipe Melo join the Reds along with a cash incentive. However, Liverpool are looking to cut their midfield numbers and wouldn’t want to do business in a like-for-like switch.

Instead, Liverpool are looking for around £13m from Juventus for their Portuguese international who was named the PFA Fans’ Player of the Year.

Meireles, who has also attracted interest from Inter Milan, has found himself on the verge of a Liverpool exit with the likes of Jordan Henderson and Charlie Adam brought in to play in his position.

Liverpool only signed Meireles last summer from Porto for £11m.

One of the longest running transfer sagas since January could finally be coming to an end this weekend. According to the Blackpool Gazette, Liverpool are set to make a new bid worth £10million in order to clinch the services of Charlie Adam.

Adam has been a target for Liverpool since the January transfer window when Blackpool refused to sell him to us. Now that they are relegated, they have very little chance of keeping him and getting him to play in the Championship.

The report goes on to suggest that Liverpool’s Director of Football Damien Comolli is scheduled to hold talks with Karl Oyston from Blackpool this weekend to thrash out a deal. Hopefully this time round, we can finalise a deal quickly without the likes of Aston Villa, Tottenham or Manchester United coming in with a late bid for Adam.

Whether £10million is a decent fee to pay for Adam, that will hopefully be a debate for next week when he would then be a Liverpool player.