Liverpool latest: Reds beat rivals to signing as Andoni Iraola sent double transfer demand

Liverpool are in the market for new signings this summer and there have been plenty of transfer rumours doing the rounds this weekend

Liverpool look to be building toward another batch of new signings amid a fresh wave of transfer speculation around Anfield. The club's summer preparations are due to get underway next Saturday with a friendly against Premier League foes Sunderland in Nashville.

Andoni Iraola has only just welcomed certain members of his new squad back from the World Cup. Yet many are due to reconvene in the United States for their summer schedule of friendlies.

The new manager is hoping to quickly put his own stamp on the team in the hopes of lifting Liverpool back into title contention this term. The ECHO takes a look at the latest whispers emerging from Merseyside as Liverpool line up further deals.

Liverpool win race for Bryan

One player who has already committed to the Reds this past week is teenage prospect Isaiah Bryan. The 14-year-old severed ties with West Brom this summer and has since joined Liverpool in a move reported to have cost £200,000.

Bryan, whose move was confirmed on Instagram, is set to join Liverpool's under-15s. It is claimed the Reds pipped Aston Villa to the centre-back's signature following a brief battle between the Premier League rivals.

The reported £200,000 figure represents a compensation fee, rather than an official transfer sum. Upon joining the setup at Kirkby, Bryan wrote on his Instagram: "Proud to announce that I'm joining Liverpool Football Club.

"It's an honour to become part of a great club. I'm grateful for this opportunity and can't wait to get started and meet my team-mates. Thank you to everyone who has supported me on this journey."

McAteer delivers double transfer demand

Former Liverpool midfielder Jason McAteer has urged his old club to make strengthening the right flank their top priority this summer. The exit of Mohamed Salah has left a void in that position, while the Reds were repeatedly stretched at right-back last season due to injuries to Conor Bradley and Jeremie Frimpong.

They have already brought in Victor Munoz, who is capable of operating down that channel. Nevertheless, that has done little to quell speculation linking the likes of Yan Diomande and Bradley Barcola as higher-profile candidates to fill the role on the right.

"I think the areas of concern are down Liverpool's right-hand side, having lost Trent [Alexander-Arnold] two seasons ago (sic)," said McAteer. "It vacated a big, big space which we obviously thought Conor Bradley would slot into.

"You felt Conor was ready to go into that position but unfortunately through injury and performances he's not been able to do that. And then Jeremie Frimpong came in.

"He's not an ideal right-back in defensive situations. He's more of a wing-back, more of an attacking player. So he's had to fill in and we've had [Dominik] Szobsozlai play right-back too so it's not been great.

"I think that had unsettled Salah as well and then Salah's obviously gone. So that right-hand side is an area we need to strengthen, both in the full-back and the wide position.

"There's been no real talk about a full-back, but certainly Diomande has been spoken about quite a lot to come into that area."

Diomande, who would command a fee exceeding £100million, had been linked with a switch to Liverpool but PSG now appear to have moved to the front of the queue. That has sent Iraola back to the drawing board in his hunt for a Salah replacement, while there remains minimal progress on the arrival of a new right-back in the near future.

"Diomande did okay during the World Cup," added McAteer. "It was difficult for Ivory Coast. He showed flashes of what he can do, but the thing about the younger players in this tournament is the likes of [Ayyoub] Bouaddi and [Lamine] Yamal seemed to take the headlines and kind of took the spotlight off him a little bit, which is not a bad thing.

"But the fact that you're looking at maybe paying £100m for him means that you're kind of looking for him to set the world alight at that kind of price on the biggest stage, and the World Cup was his platform. It was difficult to judge him on his World Cup performances, but he's definitely a young talent that needs to be looked at."

Speaking to Betarades.gr, McAteer backed France winger Barcola as the stronger acquisition: "Between Diomande and Barcola I would probably go for Barcola right now. I don't think Liverpool need to buy potential anymore. I think we found out last season that potential doesn't necessarily work all the time.

"You kind of need to buy a bit more of a finished article and someone you can trust a little bit more. I just think Barcola's performances in this World Cup have just shown more maturity than Diomande."

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