Liverpool End Negotiations For Porto Winger After Refusing to Increase €4m Bid

Liverpool will miss out on highly rated Porto winger Christian Atsu after refusing to increase their bid beyond €4m for the 21-year-old's services.

The Ghanaian international seemed destined to leave the Estadio do Dragao during this transfer window after refusing to sign a contract extension that would have raised his release clause to €30m earlier in the summer.

After declaring his ambition to play in the Premier League, both Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur were closely linked with a move, with the Reds taking the initiative with an opening bid for the wide man that was rejected by the Portuguese champions.

But despite their interest, Brendan Rodgers' side are seemingly unwilling to increase their offer beyond €4m, choosing to walk away from the deal, leaving Atsu's immediate future uncertain.

"It is true that there was such a proposal, as it is also true that FC Porto refused," Atsu's agent Tony Appiah told Portuguese publication O Jogo. "Honestly, I do not know if Liverpool are still interested, because in football everything changes from one day to another. What I think is that Porto are not interested in selling Atsu.

"Now we cannot do much more. We had such a proposal (from Liverpool) but it was refused. Everything depends on the club. Only the president Pinto da Costa and Antero Henrique (Porto's technical director) can now decide the future of Atsu."

Atsu was given his first call up to the Porto squad by Andre Villas-Boas during the Tottenham boss' tenure at the Portuguese giants in 2011 before impressing while on a loan spell at Rio Ave during the 2011/12 season, taking a place in the first team squad last campaign.

The winger's current deal at Porto will expire next summer, and a reported release clause of just €10m suggests the club may sell the winger this summer for the right price.

But having secured the services of 20-year-old Luis Alberto who can also occupy a wide position, it would appear Liverpool's interest in the Ghana international has waned. Rodgers has also indicated that his focus will now be on signing players capable of having an immediate impact in his starting XI, with the relatively inexperienced Atsu unlikely to fill that quota.