Liverpool Ready To Hijack Chelsea’s £22m Move For La Liga Attacker

With the summer transfer window finally open for business, managers are working hard trying to strengthen their squads ahead of next season so we’ll bring you all the news and gossip. Today, Liverpool are keen on Pedro…

Liverpool are ready to make a late move to sign Barcelona attacker Pedro Rodriguez from under Chelsea’s nose as Brendan Rodgers looks to replace Raheem Sterling, according to the Daily Mail.

Pedro had been tipped to leave the Nou Camp earlier this summer but appeared to commit his long-term future to the Spanish giants after signing a new long-term contract extension last month.

But the Guardian reported earlier this week the his new deal saw the 27-year-old’s buy-out clause reduce from £106m to a far more affordable £22m and understandably this revelation has led to speculation of a move to the Premier League.

Pedro fuelled talk over a move away from Barca after revealing that he’s received ‘important offers’ and admitted the lack of regular action at the Nou Camp is making life ‘difficult’.

“It’s true I have received important offers but don’t want to say more out of respect for my club.

“My situation is complicated because I want to play a lot of minutes but that is becoming very difficult at Barcelona.” Pedro is quoted as saying by the Mirror.

It looked like Pedro could be heading for Stamford Bridge as the Express claimed on Wednesday that the Blues had agreed to meet the attackers £22m release fee and expected to wrap-up a deal after this weekend’s presidential elections at Barca had been concluded.

The newspaper suggested that the Blues had offered Pedro a four-year deal and despite other offers, the Spanish international supposedly favoured a move to West London after speaking with former team-mate Cesc Fabregas.

However, it  appears Chelsea could face some late competition as the Daily Mail are citing reports coming out of Spain that claim Liverpool are ready to battle-it-out with their English rivals over Pedro’s signature.

Brendan Rodgers has been extremely busy in the transfer market so far this summer and even though he’s set to wrap-up the signing of Christian Benteke from Aston Villa [via BBC], it looks as though the Northern Irishman is keen to further strengthen his attack this summer.

With Raheem Sterling now at Manchester City, Pedro could be viewed as the ideal replacement as he’s able to play anywhere across the front three positions and can even play as a central striker if required.

The major problem Liverpool face is persuading Pedro to opt for a move to Anfield over Stamford Bridge as they aren’t able to offer immediate Champions League football.

We’ll have to wait and see how things progress after the weekend but I think Pedro would be an excellent signing for either Chelsea or Liverpool if one of them could pull it off this summer.

READ MORE –> Chelsea transfer news | Liverpool transfer news

The Spaniard has a wealth of experience at the top level and while he hasn’t always been a regular for Barca, he’s still managed to chip in with 98 goals in 318 appearances for the club, so he’d certainly bring an added goal threat.

For now, I still think Chelsea are in pole position to secure his signature if he does want to come to England and £22m for a player of Pedro’s quality in today’s market would be an absolute bargain.