Liverpool Transfer News: Reds Wise to Deny All Last-Minute Bids for Luis Suarez

Liverpool has nearly made it the entire summer without losing prized striker Luis Suarez. Now, manager Brendan Rodgers and owner John Henry must batten the hatches one last time.

With La Liga giant Real Madrid rumoured to be selling midfielder Karim Benzema to Arsenal, per John Cross of the Mirror, there's a belief that Real could use the profit to shift its sights on Anfield's most valuable player.  

However, David Maddock of the Mirror reports that Rodgers and Henry are prepared to remain steadfast in their refusal to sell the striker. Rodgers had this to say regarding the situation:

"

I’m sure there will be plenty of activity in these last number of days (of the transfer window). It is what it is, we will deal with it like we have during the summer.

"

Of course, "like we have during the summer" involves saying no—a lot.

Suarez's potential departure has been the dominant storyline for Liverpool throughout the summer transfer window. His incredible 2012-13 campaign in which he scored 23 goals in Premier League play made him the No. 1 transfer target on Arsenal's wish list. 

What ensued was a constant stream of rumours and an infamous bid of £40,000,001 from the Gunners that would supposedly open the door to the Premier League rivals sweeping away the star. 

All the madness seemed like it was going to be behind the club when he returned to practice with the first team and apologized to teammates for the summer saga, per The Telegraph.

Now it appears that the club will have to hold off bids for a little while longer while it waits for the Sept. 2 deadline. 

It's at this point that fans may wonder aloud if it wouldn't be a better choice to just sell Suarez now and be done with the headache. However, as Rodgers pointed out, if there was a time to sell him this summer it has certainly passed at this point, per Maddock:

"

If we lose Luis at this stage... there might have been a point a few months ago where there was time to do it, but with 11 days to go it would be difficult to replace him

"

However you feel about Rodgers as the manager at Anfield, he's exactly right. The high transfer fee that Suarez could conceivably command from a rich team like Madrid is impressive, but there's no way the club would have the time to bring in enough talent to offset the massive loss. 

Even without Suarez, the club's goal will remain unchanged, and that's to play Champions League football. Regardless of how Suarez feels about the situation, Rodgers and Co. have a responsibility to do whatever it takes to get the club there. 

That's why at this point the only response that Liverpool can give to any last-minute offers for Suarez is "too little, too late."