Liverpool transfer news and rumors today LIVE: Yan Diomande interest, Kroupi link, Akliouche move

Below is a summary of the full article. Click here for the full version from Liverpool.com or go back to LFC Live.

Today17:24 BSTDiomande 'motivated' by Liverpool linksYan Diomande has addressed the rumors linking him with a transfer to Liverpool this summer, and admitted he's using the speculation as motivation.Speaking to reporters (via GOAL), he said:You gonna be happy and motivate to do more. So this kind of thing gives me a lot of motivation to see a lot of clubs speaking about you and stuff like this, but I'm focused.Yan Diomande has been linked with a move to Liverpool this summer(Image: Getty Images)Today16:40 BSTFrancisco Trincao move 'concrete'Liverpool has taken “concrete steps” to sign Sporting CP winger Francisco Trincao, according to Caught Offside.The 26-year-old is claimed to be attracting interest from the Reds and Chelsea, while reports have indicated he has a €60 million ($71M) release clause in his contract.The former Barcelona star has 12 goals and 18 assists from 51 appearances for Sporting this season, and is said to be seen as a versatile attacking option who could play on the right or centrally for Liverpool.Francisco Trincao of Sporting Clube de Portugal(Image: Diogo Cardoso/Getty Images)Today16:00 BSTGeertruida available againLiverpool could get another chance to sign Lutsharel Geertruida this summer, with Sky Germany's Florian Plettenberg reporting that Sunderland will not turn his loan into a permanent move.The Black Cats have the option to trigger a €23M ($27M) option to buy him from RB Leipzig, but the defender is now set to return to Germany in the summer.A permanent departure is said to be likely though, with interest coming from Europe's top five leagues.

I think he's ready to play regular games and to finally start his career."I think that’s probably why I think Liverpool are not scared to let Salah go, because they know they have in Rio someone special, and he's been proving he's a great player."Rio Ngumoha replaced Mohamed Salah as Liverpool beat Nottingham Forest.(Image: Liverpool FC via Getty Images)Today13:20 BSTSteven Gerrard wants Curtis Jones to stay Steven Gerrard says Liverpool shouldn't allow Curtis Jones to leave this summer — and he hopes that Trent Alexander-Arnold will return one day too."I wouldn’t allow Curtis Jones to leave," Gerrard told BFM Radio. Now we can see him grabbing games by the scruff of the neck and making life incredibly difficult for defenders."Now, of course, he's not a direct replacement for Mo Salah, but Mo Salah wasn't Mo Salah of now or the Mo Salah of the Liverpool title-winning season when he arrived - he became that at Liverpool."The only thing I would say is get it over the line before the World Cup because he'll be in that World Cup squad because he's played his way into it over the past four or five months."If he has a few good cameos for France, Monaco will whack the price up, it's fair to say, and also there's competition for him as well."Maghnes Akliouche continues to be linked with a transfer to Liverpool(Image: (Photo by Sandra Ruhaut/Icon Sport via Getty Images))Today11:20 BSTJunior Kroupi messageBournemouth managing director Tiago Pinto has emphatically ruled out a sale of Eli Junior Kroupi this summer, even if a massive offer comes in.Speaking to media in Spain, he suggested that even an offer as big as €100 million ($117 million/£85 million) from a club like Liverpool or Barcelona would not be enough to convince the Cherries to cash in."His contract still has more than four years remaining, there is no release clause, and he is not going anywhere," Pinto said.Eli Junior Kroupi has enjoyed an impressive season with Bournemouth(Image: Robin Jones - AFC Bournemouth/AFC Bournemouth via Getty Images)Today10:40 BSTMicky van de Ven transfer moveFormer Manchester United defender Jaap Stam says his fellow countryman Micky van de Ven is ready to sign for a bigger club like Liverpool."Van de Ven is ready and I think he's very good at adapting to a certain level," Stam told ComeOn.

So he can play as a left-back, or as a center-back."Those type of players in your squad are ideal, I think, for a manager in making choices, but also that you're confident when you play that when the opposition gets past you or puts that ball over the top, that you have players who can defend that big space."Micky van de Ven has been linked with a move to Liverpool in the summer(Image: Getty Images)Today10:00 BSTWhat does Liverpool need this summer? Jamie Carragher and Joe Cole are in agreement that at the very least, it would make things more difficult."I think it would be a great coup for Chelsea," Carragher said on Monday Night Football."I think he would love to manage Liverpool one day, I’m sure he would.