• Premier League

Rodgers ready to break £100m in spending spree

Liverpool are ready to take their summer spending beyond £100 million with Brendan Rodgers given the go ahead to bolster his squad using the funds from the sale of Luis Suarez.

The club has already spent around £60m on Adam Lallana, Rickie Lambert, Emre Can and Lazar Markovic in preparation for their return to the Champions League and now the manager wants to use the £75m that Barcelona paid for Suarez to add more quality.

"Obviously, Luis going gives us the clout to go and spend more and we are getting the right type of player in," Rodgers said.

"The signings we have made were players that were earmarked to come in. We felt last year we just never had the depth and we are in the Champions League this year, so we have to ensure we have as strong a squad as possible.

"We certainly won't spend just for the sake of spending - it has to be the sort of player who is going to improve us."

According to the Times, Rodgers has been given permission by owners Fenway Sports Group to further improve his squad.

Rodgers is not short of targets, having had a £20m bid for Southampton defender Dejan Lovren turned down despite the player saying his head was already at Anfield.

Interest in Swansea's Ben Davies has increased after Sevilla turned down an offer of £16m for left-back Alberto Moreno in May, while a deal for Lille striker Divock Origi, who impressed for Belgium at the World Cup, is thought to be close.

One player Rodgers has missed out on, though, is Alexis Sanchez, who instead chose to swap Barcelona for Arsenal. Sanchez was said to have preferred a move to London, which scuppered plans for him to be included in the deal for Suarez. However, Rodgers insists he has no trouble in attracting world class players to the club.

"That was one where geography dictated where he wanted to go," Rodgers said. "It's actually been the other way: Lots of players are really impressed by what we are doing as club and really excited about coming to Liverpool.

"It was not lack of ambition from the club [that Sanchez went to Arsenal]. The player and his family want to choose to live wherever that is. Sanchez is a fantastic player and would have suited us; his profile would have been great but it was not to be and we move on."

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