Liverpool’s managing director Ian Ayre has flown to Barcelona to hold talks with Pere Guardiola, about a new contract for Luis Suarez.
The Uruguayan spent much of the summer trying to force a move from Anfield, as he sought the UEFA Champions League football the Reds are unable to offer him. Despite this lack of loyalty, Brendan Rodgers refused to sell the former Ajax ace, who was the subject of at least two bids from Premier League rivals Arsenal.
Since Suarez accepted he would not be moving from Merseyside, he has returned from a 10-match suspension to play arguably the best football of his career. On Sunday, he terrorised the Tottenham Hotspur rearguard in an impressive 5-0 win for the visitors at White Hart Lane, in which he scored another two goals.
This has taken his tally to a staggering 17 in just 11 league games, and has already made him one of the hot favourites to be named Player of the Year. This is a remarkable turnaround for a player who has been rightly punished for racially abusing Manchester United defender Patrice Evra, and biting Chelsea’s Branislav Ivanovic on the arm, both of which resulted in lengthy bans.
Despite his performances on the pitch, there are still rumours that he would be prepared to leave Liverpool in January. Indeed, speaking on Sky Sports’ Sunday Supplement recently, journalist Paul Smith was adamant that the striker will do all he can to push for a transfer as soon as the window reopens next month.
However, the Anfield giants remain as eager as ever to retain their star player, and Ayre has now flown to Barcelona to speak to his agent in a bid to wrap up a new contract. It is understood an offer of more than £130,000 will be presented to Suarez, despite him already being tied to the club until 2016.
There is little doubt that the Uruguayan would be more than happy to commit his future to Liverpool if they can offer him Champions League football, and at the moment, they are on course as they sit second in the table. However, with Real Madrid thought to be lining up a £60million bid for his signature, and with the Bernabeu club able to virtually guarantee him the platform he so craves on an annual basis, Suarez may have some thinking to do in the coming weeks.
