Daniel Sturridge 'to leave Liverpool'; Reds miss out on Alex Teixeira; Chelsea reject £57.5m China bid for Oscar

Liverpool have been rocked by the revelation that Daniel Sturridge is reportedly prepared to leave Anfield this summer after becoming angered by doubts over his desire. The England international has overcome a succession of injuries in previous years but struggles to hold down a regular starting place before his next set-back strikes.

Jurgen Klopp has previously questioned the 26-year-old’s pain threshold and, according to the Daily Mail, Sturridge is now prepared to leave Liverpool. Despite his unenviable injury record, the striker has two-and-a-half years remaining on his £150,000-a-week contract giving the Reds enough leverage to command a sizable fee if they agree to sell the former Chelsea man. He scored 28 goals for Liverpool during their title challenge in 2013-14 and, alongside Luis Suarez, became one of the most highly-rated strikers in Europe.

On a day of bad news for Liverpool supporters, it has been revealed that primary transfer target Alex Teixeira is on the verge of a €50m (£38.4m) transfer to Chinese club Jiangsu Suning. Shakhtar Donetsk, who rejected two offers in the region of £24.5m and £28m from the Reds last month, announced that the 26-year-old is to become the latest leading European-based talent to move to Asia.

Ramires also joined Jiangsu for £25m last week before Jackson Martinez’s £31m switch to Guangzhou Evergrande, managed by former Brazil manager Luiz Felipe Scolari. They join former Arsenal man Gervinho, who signed for Hebei China Fortune from Roma for £13.8m, and Colombian international Fredy Guarin, who moved from Inter Milan to Shanghai Shenhua for £10m.

The China theme continues this morning as reports suggest Chelsea have rejected a stunning £57.5m bid for Brazilian midfielder Oscar from Jiangsu. According to the Sun, the Far East outfit are expected to return for the Blues ace in the summer and are believed to also be keen on signing Manchester City’s Ivory Coast international Yaya Toure.

Jiangsu, based on the east coast of China, are managed by the former Blues and Southampton winger Dan Petrescu and have showcased their willingness to spend big, twice breaking the Chinese transfer record. It remains to be seen if Oscar would entertain a move to Asia but football has been stunned by their recent exploits in the transfer market, not just attracting older players in their twilight years but younger talents too.

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The Blues are braced for an offer from Atletico Madrid for striker Diego Costa this summer as the La Liga outfit attempt to ensure manager Diego Simeone stays at the Vicente Calderon. The Blues have been linked with the enigmatic Argentine boss since sacking Jose Mourinho in December but, according to the Evening Standard, Atletico are drawing up a strategy to keep their man.

Simeone, who reportedly has a release clause in his contract that expires in 2020 worth £15m, wants more backing in the transfer market to keep the club at Europe’s top table for the foreseeable future. The Madrid-based club had an enquiry for Costa rejected during the January transfer window, but are confident they will succeed at the end of the season.