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Barcelona have had two bids rejected for Norwich City defender Max Aarons as they look to replace Nelson Semedo, sources have confirmed.

Barca first made contact with Aarons’ agents over a transfer in May and have already agreed on personal terms with the right-back.

However, they have been unable to strike a deal with Norwich, with an initial offer to take Aarons on loan with an option to buy next summer for around €20 million knocked back by the Championship club.

A second offer has also been turned down but sources asay that Barca haven’t completely given up hope of landing the England under-21 international yet after making him their No.1 full-back target.

Sources at the Catalan club have revealed that Semedo could leave in the next week, with talks at an advanced stage with a Premier League side.

Barca hope to sell Semedo for over €30m. They plan to re-invest that money on a younger right-back to compete with Sergi Roberto this season.

Aarons, 20, has emerged as their preferred option but they are also managing a number of alternatives in case they are unable to find a breakthrough in negotiations with Norwich.

Ajax defender Sergino Dest has also been followed by Barca for a while and is another name on the table if Semedo is sold in the coming days.

In the case of both Aarons and Dest, Barca face competition from Bayern Munich. Sources close to the United States international confirmed that youthe Bundesliga champions are in pole position.

That would clear the way for Barca to move for Aarons, although they have also sounded out the chances of doing deals for Arsenal’s Hector Bellerin and Manchester United’s Diogo Dalot.

Barca could still push ahead with signing a full-back even if Semedo stays. However, they cannot buy until they offload players, which is why they initially proposed a season-long loan when negotiating for Aarons.

Liverpool have reportedly completed the signing of Portuguese attacker Diogo Jota from Wolverhampton Wanderers in a £45 million deal.

As reported by the Liverpool Echo, Premier League champions,
Liverpool have completed the signing of Diogo Jota from Wolverhampton Wanderers. The player is set to pen a five-year contract with the Reds.

The 23-year-old Jota came through the youth ranks at Portuguese outfit Gondomar, before joining Pacos Ferreira. In 2016, he signed for La Liga giants Atletico Madrid, but was immediately loaned out to FC Porto, where he impressed. The following summer, he joined Wolves, who were in the Championship at the time, initially on loan, before making the transfer permanent in 2018.

Since joining the Black County outfit, the Portuguese forward has accumulated 131 appearances, scoring 44 goals and setting up 19 more. A versatile attacker, Jota has been used mostly on the left flank, but has also often operated as part of a two-pronged attack alongside Raul Jimenez.

Liverpool had been heavily linked with a move for Jota’s teammate Adama Traore all summer. Understandably so, considering that the reigning English champions are lacking quality backup for their first-choice frontline of Mohamed Salah, Roberto Firmino and Sadio Mane.

However, instead of Traore, the club seem to have moved in on Jota, with the report claiming that Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has been a long-term admirer of the Portuguese. And while it is yet to be announced officially, the Echo is claiming that the transfer is a done deal.

As per the report, Liverpool will be shelling out £41 million for the signing of the forward, with another £4 million in add-ons. Jota is expected to put pen to a five-year contract with the Premier League champions. He is set to become the Reds’ fourth most expensive player behind Virgil van Dijk, Alisson Becker and Naby Keita.

It is further claimed that Liverpool will have to pay around just 10 per cent of the guaranteed transfer fee across the next twelve months.

Jota will become Liverpool’s third signing of the summer, following the arrivals of Kostas Tsimikas and Thiago Alcantara, who joined the club only on Friday. After a rather subdued start to the transfer window, Liverpool have made a huge statement with two brilliant signings on a single day.

Jota’s signing is not the only deal that Liverpool have struck with Wolves on Friday. The Reds have also agreed to the sale of defensive prospect Ki-Jana Hoever in a deal worth an inital £9 million with a further £4.5m in add-ons.

33, abosede kuboye crescent

Reports emerged on Thursday morning that Liverpool had agreed a £25million deal to sign the Spain international. And a deal is now said to be completed for the Bayern Munich star.

Romano claims Thiago promised to Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp in June that he would join the Reds.

Thiago played a crucial role in helping Bayern win the Champions League only last month.

But that appears to have been his final competitive game for the Bundesliga giants.

Liverpool are set to pay £20m in four instalments of £5m over the four years of the contract.

The extra £5m will be made up by performance-related add-ons.

Klopp was asked about a deal for Thiago on Thursday but refused to give anything away.

Nothing, actually. Absolutely nothing,” he told Sky Sports.

“How it always is, we are not part of speculation. We try to never be. That’s it.

When something is announced, you are the person I will call!”

“It’s completely normal that we have to make another step because other teams will make other steps as well.

“It has nothing to do with being champions, we constantly try to develop and find solutions to the new challenges before we have the problems with them. That’s how football works.”

Meanwhile, Liverpool left-back Andy Robertson has admitted he is a fan of Thiago but said there had been no sign of the 29-year-old at the club’s Melwood training ground amid reports the player was undergoing a medical.

“When you are at a club like Liverpool, you get linked with players all the time,” Robertson told Sky Sports.

For us, we focus on our squad. Nobody is in Melwood in terms of Thiago or any other player now for a new signing. Until something is signed on the dotted line then we don’t listen to rumours.

“Our aim is to excite fans, we excited them last season. They believed we might have won the league by Christmas time, but we [the players] didn’t.

“If we’re not exciting the fans, we’re not doing something right.

“If the club are exciting the fans with a potential link or potential rumour that we are going to sign this player then I suppose we are doing something right.

I have watched him. He is a fantastic player. A player full of talent. He would add to the quality of squad and probably any team in the world.

“If we get him, great. If we don’t then it is what it is. But we’ll wait and see until it’s confirmed then maybe I can sit down again and talk about his qualities a bit more.”