Liverpool Transfer News: Latest on Luan Vieira and Mario Balotelli Rumours

Liverpool's efforts to sign Gremio forward Luan Vieira have failed after the Reds extensively scouted the Brazil under-23 forward.

Spanish newspaper Sport (h/t TalkSport) reported the youngster will not be arriving at Anfield after Jurgen Klopp "failed" to lure him to Merseyside. The German had been prepared to solidify his interest in the talent, who has grown in stature in South American football.

The player has caused a stir recently, with Premier League champions Leicester City and La Liga champions Barcelona reportedly registering interest after Luan scored 17 goals last term.

A recent report from Joaquim Piera of Sport indicated the Blaugrana will now try to sign the 23-year-old hitman:

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The striker, part of Brazil's Olympic side, fits the profile Albert Soler, head of professional sports at FC Barcelona, required. He is young - he turned 23 in March - has quality and a big potential. His price, as SPORT revealed on Saturday, would cost around 20 million euros, a reasonable figure for Barcelona.

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Here is the striker in action:

Klopp has hinted he may make additional signings before the transfer window closes, per Samuel Stevens of The Independent.

The Liverpool manager said:

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Is the activity all over? I have no idea. I don’t think so. We will see what happens. If the Roma game was our base then we have to change everything but it isn’t. 

Was the Milan game more our base? Maybe. But Roma? No.

(Joe) Gomez, (Mamadou) Sakho and Lucas are all injured so of course we haven’t got enough centre-backs at the moment. But we have to handle situations. There have been too many games with not enough centre-backs. We can’t sign someone just for a few weeks. In other positions we do have cover.

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Marco Vasini/Associated Press

In other news, Mario Balotelli's transfer to Pescara appears to be off as the Italian misfit struggles to find a new team to play for.

Sport Mediaset (via the Telegraph) reported Pescara’s club president Daniele Sebastiani has described Balotelli as a "figurine," and his club now have no interest in signing the outcast.

As the season approaches, Liverpool's ranks appear thin and Klopp needs to swell his options if he wants to challenge for a UEFA Champions League finish.

The return to health of Daniel Sturridge offers the German a top-class striking entity for his starting XI, but the squad has little cover in vital positions.

Klopp needs to improve Liverpool's overall pool of talent in order to hit the heights of bygone eras, otherwise Reds supporters could see themselves left behind as the two Manchester powerhouses of the north-west pull away at the top of the league with London's elite.