Liverpool Transfer News: Marco Reus January Deal Expected, Wilfried Bony Latest

Brendan Rodgers could reportedly be set to add one of the world's most exciting players to his Liverpool squad in January with a deal to bring Marco Reus to Anfield on the cards.

The Borussia Dortmund forward has, according to Metro, rejected a new contract from the Bundesliga club and they are now set to sell on their star player, and sooner rather than later:

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They [Liverpool] were expecting to move for him in the summer, but a January deal is now on the cards, with Dortmund resigned to losing him – and targeting a replacement.

PSG’s Javier Pastore is the man they want, and negotiations are underway for him to arrive in the new year; freeing up Reus to sign for Liverpool.

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Indeed, Tuttomercatoweb (h/t Anthony Chapman in the Express) reports Jurgen Klopp's interest in Pastore and suggests that—with Reus' buyout clause set to drop to £20 million next summer—Dortmund are keen to cash in on the German international.

While the Reds are being touted as the front-runners in the chase for Reus, they will likely face huge competition from other Premier League clubs Manchester United, Manchester City and Arsenal, per Chapman's piece.

The clamour surrounding the 25-year-old is unsurprising considering his abilities both as a goalscorer and a creator—he scored 16 times and assisted 13 in 30 Bundesliga appearances last season per WhoScored.com. 

With United recently having thrown their financial weight around in the transfer market and City's obvious ability to pay big wages, the Anfield outfit may perhaps be seen as underdogs in the fight for Reus.

However, as reported by Mike Whalley on ESPN, the club's chief commercial officer Billy Hogan has recently described Liverpool's financial progress over the last four years as "phenomenal," suggesting they may be able to fight it out with the other top English clubs.

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Signing Reus would be a huge boost for Rodgers and Liverpool as they have endured a somewhat underwhelming start to the season and seem to be sorely missing the world-class quality lost from Luis Suarez's departure.

While Reus would not be a direct replacement for the Uruguayan, he truly is one of the world's best players and could become the centre-point of Liverpool's talented—if inconsistent—attacking unit.

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It looks as though Swansea's Wilfried Bony will not become part of that unit any time soon despite consistent rumours linking him to Anfield over the summer, with the Ivorian striker happy in Wales and potentially set to sign a new contract, per Neil McLeman in the Mirror:

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If I wanted to go, I would have done. But there has never been anything other than speculation about the departure in Monaco, Liverpool or Tottenham. I’m fine in Swansea. It is even possible that I extend my contract.

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The 25-year-old scored 16 league goals last season and was seen as a viable option for the Reds to bring in to soften the blow of losing Suarez. In the end however, they brought in Rickie Lambert and Mario Balotelli, the latter of whom has made a poor start to life on Merseyside, per BT Sport's Ian Darke:

Losing Suarez to Barcelona was always going to have an effect on Liverpool and the lack of true quality up front has been a feature of the Reds' play this season so far.

However, if they could pull off the Reus signing, it would add the type of quality which seems to be currently missing at Anfield. It would also signal a real intent from Liverpool that they aim to compete at the very top level and sign the world's best players.