Mauro Icardi
Icardi is in high demand following his impressive performances for Inter Milan this seasonReuters

Liverpool have been dealt a big blow in their pursuit of Mauro Icardi following reports of the Inter Milan striker interested in joining their Premier League rivals Chelsea.

The 21-year-old, who is being dubbed as the "new Ronaldo", has been linked to a lot of Premier league clubs including Liverpool, Chelsea, and Tottenham Hotspur following his impressive performances with Inter Milan.

Liverpool, who are desperately looking for a new striker due to the regular injury of Daniel Sturridge and the poor performances of summer signings Mario Balotelli and Rickie Lambert this season, were believed to be leading the race to secure the £28 million rated Argentine's signature in January.

But according to the Express, the youngster is reportedly interested in making a move to Chelsea rather than Liverpool.

Although Inter Milan are reportedly hesitant to part with their young striker, they may let Icardi move so that they can get the required funds to sign Tottenham's Erik Lamela or PSG's Ezequiel Lavezzi.

Meanwhile Liverpool's other target Edinson Cavani has dismissed speculations about him trying to force a move out of Paris Saint-Germain in January.

The former Napoli man has been heavily linked with a move to England following reports of him being unhappy at PSG due to manager Laurant Blanc not playing him in his preferred centre forward position.

Recently there were reports of the 27-year-old striker wanting PSG to reduce his £50million so that he could complete a move to the Premier League, with Liverpool and Arsenal believed to be very interested in securing his services in the winter transfer window.

However, the Uruguay striker, who has scored 23 goals from 45 Ligue 1 appearances for PSG since completing a reported €64.5 million move from Napoli last summer, has dismissed all the speculations, insisting that he happy to play wherever Blanc wants him to.

"PSG is a club with a huge sporting project," said Cavani, according to the Express. "They spent so much money to bring me from Napoli. I will give my all and do everything that is required of me."