Liverpool Transfer News: Reds to Announce First Summer Signing Soon

Liverpool are reportedly on the verge of finalising a deal to sign Benfica winger Eduardo Salvio this summer, with some reports claiming that the transfer will be officially announced in a couple of days.

Despite Liverpool's poor performances this season - that ended with a 6-1 drubbing at Stoke City (their heaviest defeat since 1963) - manager Brendan Rodgers is expected to retain his managerial position at Anfield beyond this season.

However, the Reds will reportedly be completely transforming the squad this summer so that they will be able to improve and compete for silverware next season.

Many players including Mario Balotelli, Rickie Lambert, Fabio Borini, Lucas Leiva, Glen Johnson, Jose Enrique and Kolo Toure are expected to be offloaded this summer to make room for new signings.

The Reds are already being linked to a number of players including Burnley's Danny Ings, Inter Milan's Mateo Kovacic and Manchester City's James Milner, but the Metro claims that Salvio is going to be the first player to join Anfield this summer.

According to the same report, Benfica president Luis Filipe Vieira and super-agent Jorge Mendes (the representative of Salvio) have already flown into England to hold talks with Liverpool over the potential transfer of the 24-year-old winger.

And it is believed that the deal could be finalised and announced in the next few days.

Although Salvio, who has scored 13 goals in 38 games for Benfica this season, reportedly has a £40 million buy-out clause attached to his current contract, it is believed that Liverpool will be able to land the Argentine for a considerably less amount.

Meanwhile, the Reds are also eyeing summer moves for AS Monaco pair Geoffrey Kondogbia and Aymen Abdennour, according to the Metro.

Kondogbia, 22, is currently one of the most coveted defensive midfielder in Europe, with him being scouted by the likes of Arsenal this season.

Although he is currently valued at around £25 million, Liverpool are reportedly ready to spend that amount on Kondogbia as they believe that the youngster could be a potential long-term replacement of Steven Gerrard, who has left the Reds to join MLS side LA Galaxy.

Abdennour, on the other hand, is a highly-rated centre-back, who has been impressive at Monaco this season.

Despite it only being one-and-a-half years since his switch from Toulouse to Monaco, the Tunisian centre-back is being heavily linked with a move to the Premier League, and it is believed that Liverpool are ready to trigger the £21.5m release clause in his contract.