Liverpool transfer news: Pepe Reina could remain with Liverpool after AC Milan move hits stumbling block over £100,000 wage demands

Goalkeeper is expected to leave Anfield this summer but a move to Italy appears to have hit a hitch in negotiations

Jack de Menezes
Monday 04 August 2014 11:04 EDT
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Pepe Reina, Spain
Pepe Reina, Spain (Getty images)

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Pepe Reina could remain with Liverpool beyond transfer deadline day after reports emerged that AC Milan had been put off making an offer for the goalkeeper due to his £100,000-a-week wage demands.

Reina spent last season in Italy after moving to Napoli on a season-long loan, but while Rafael Benitez is believed to be hopeful of taking the 31-year-old on ahead of the new season.

The Spanish international still has two years to run on his current contract, but Brendan Rodgers has shown a preference for current No 1 Simon Mignolet, and reports on Monday morning claim that Reina has even asked for his contract to be terminated even though he has a £4m release clause that could be activated.

Milan are also looking at Reina with a view to taking him on a loan deal due to their financial issues, but the excessive salary that Reina is currently on has seen the move hit a stumbling block.

The Serie A side are looking to sell a number of players including striker Mario Balotelli in order to generate transfer funds, but talk of the striker heading in the opposite direction to Anfield has been “categorically” ruled out by Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers.

Despite Rodgers ruling out any move for the 23-year-old Italian, Liverpool will remain active in the transfer window with a loan deal for Atletico Madrid right-back Javier Manquillo expected to go through in the coming days.

The move, once sealed, could be followed by £20m deal for Seville left-back Alberto Moreno, with the Merseyside club still locked in talks with the La Liga side as they seek to negotiate a fee.

While transfer news at Anfield is rife this summer, all attentions will turn to the pitch later tonight when Liverpool meet fierce rivals Manchester United in the final of the International Champions Cup in the United States.

Both Premier League clubs emerged from their respective groups to set up the friendly showdown in Miami, which promises to be anything but friendly as each club looks to take the bragging rights early in the new season. The reds overcame Milan, Manchester City and Olympikos to reach the final, while United saw off the challenge of Roma and Inter Milan along with a 3-1 win over Real Madrid in front of a record 109,318 fans at Michigan Stadium, the largest number to have ever attended a football match in the US.

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