Liverpool are preparing a £6m bid to sign Sporting Lisbon winger Diego Capel, according to the Metro. The Spanish international joined the Portuguese club from Sevilla two summers ago and his contract with Sporting runs down in 2016.

Diego Capel
Reuters

The report suggests Capel is keen on making a switch to England with a move to Anfield being on his radar. The Ligue 1 side Marseille were holding their interest in signing the left-winger and have had their bids of £2m and £3m rejected by the Lisbon club, as it did not meet the player's asking price.

Brendan Rodgers is believed to let Liverpool winger Stewart Downing leave for £5m before the transfer window shuts and Newcastle United have shown interest in signing him.

With the Reds looking to offload the England international, a move for Capel could see them replace Downing in their squad. The former Swansea manager earlier confirmed that Liverpool are still in the market to sign one or two players to strengthen their first team.

The Metro claims Capel is likely to be Rodgers' fifth addition of the summer, after signing Spanish duo Iago Aspas and Luis Alberto, along with Belgium international Simon Mignolet and Kolo Toure from Manchester City on a free transfer.

Sporting are keen on retaining Capel beyond this summer. But their financial difficulties could force them to let the winger leave this summer, provided Liverpool meet the asking price for their player.

Meanwhile, Blackpool manager Paul Ince wants Liverpool target Tom Ince to continue in the Championship. The 21-year-old has long been a transfer target for the Reds and his father is hopeful that the winger extends his services with his current employers.

"It would be nice to keep him, obviously. He's a quality player and there has been plenty of interest for him, but it just shows how thin we were on the ground today. We have had to play more or less the same team from Saturday," Paul explained.

"Two high intensity games - Doncaster away on Saturday and then a derby here. It just shows how light we are on the bench and how light we are strength-wise. We didn't really want to play [Michael] Chopra and [Steve] Davies for 90 minutes but we had to keep them on because, attacking-wise, we are short," he added.