Liverpool are edging closer to the signing of Bayern Munich's Thiago Alcantara according to reports.
The Spaniard is tipped to leave the German champions with his contract winding down and Anfield is touted as his likely desintation.
Discussions between Thiago and the Reds have progressed nicely and a transfer fee is now the only remaining sticking point.
Bayern want €35m (£31.5m) for the former Barcelona man according to SPORT.
Liverpool though do not want to pay the 29-year-old's transfer fee in one lump sum and would rather spread the payments out.
The Reds have excelled with their recruitment in recent years but the impact of the coronavirus is likely to have an affect on transfers this summer.
Thiago has been a regular for the Bavarians this term and once again picked up the Bundesliga title.
But he has only been afforded two starts since football returned due to a groin problem.
If Thiago did move to Liverpool he would have to contend with the likes of Fabinho, Jordan Henderson and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain for a starting berth.
But Jurgen Klopp has already said that the club "cannot spend millions" and will continue giving academy talent an opportunity.
"It is not a squad you have to change now and say ‘OK, we need this position and this position’," the German said this week.
"If you are a football supporter, you want a backup for him and him, even if you are completely happy with everyone, you want backups.
"We don’t have a first XI, I say we have a first 16 or 17, they can all play to the same level. But we have to use this, 100 per cent.
"And what we want to create are our transfers internally. We cannot spend millions and millions and millions because we want to or we think it is nice to do. We never wanted that."
"We want to strengthen this squad and this squad is strong. The problem with a strong squad is how do you improve a strong squad on the transfer market?
"It works with money, obviously, that is possible. But it never works only with money. You have to be creative and we try to be creative. We try to find solutions internally.
"And there is still a lot to come. We have three or four players who can make big, big steps. All players can make steps and that is the pressure we make as well, internally."
