Liverpool FC Thread #161:- You'll Never Walk Alone

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Liverpool forward Roberto Firmino has been confirmed as the winner of the 2018 Samba Gold award.

The annual prize honours the best Brazilian footballer playing in Europe and is decided by the votes of journalists, VIPs and online users.

And Firmino topped the overall poll with 21.79 per cent of the vote, ahead of Marcelo (20.51 per cent) and Neymar (18.67 per cent).

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Jürgen Klopp has been shortlisted for Premier League Manager of the Month in December.

The boss led Liverpool to a perfect seven successive victories to claim top spot in the division, with 22 goals scored and only three conceded.

Klopp is up against Nuno Espirito Santo (Wolverhampton Wanderers), Manuel Pellegrini (West Ham United), Mauricio Pochettino (Tottenham Hotspur) and Maurizio Sarri (Chelsea) for the accolade.

Cast a vote for him now by clicking here.

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Mohamed Salah and Virgil van Dijk have been nominated for the Premier League's December Player of the Month award.

The Liverpool pair are in contention for the prize after helping the team to seven successive victories during the period.

Salah started six of the seven games for the Reds and scored six goals, including a hat-trick at Bournemouth and the opener at Wolverhampton Wanderers.

Van Dijk, meanwhile, began every match as Liverpool recorded four clean sheets, and the Dutchman netted his first league goal for the club in the win over Wolves.

The Reds duo are up against five other players for the award: Felipe Anderson (West Ham United), Eden Hazard (Chelsea), Harry Kane (Tottenham Hotspur), Marcus Rashford (Manchester United) and Son Heung-min (Tottenham Hotspur).

Click here to cast a vote for Salah and Van Dijk.

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Liverpool full-back Nathaniel Clyne is set to join Bournemouth on loan for the rest of the season.

The 27-year-old was keen to move on in search of regular first-team football after finding himself on the fringes of Jurgen Klopp's squad.

Clyne has started just one Premier League game so far this term with Trent Alexander-Arnold firmly established as the Reds' first choice right-back.

The former Southampton defender replaced the injured Alexander-Arnold for last month's 3-1 win over Manchester United at Anfield.

However, it was telling that Klopp opted to play midfielder James Milner at right-back rather than Clyne in the next game at Wolves.

With Alexander-Arnold now fit and Joe Gomez closing in on a return, Klopp has decided that he has sufficient cover to let Clyne go. As well as Milner, Fabinho can also operate at right-back.

Exciting Dutch teenager Ki-Jana Hoever is another option for Klopp.

The 16-year-old, who can play at full-back or centre-back, has massively impressed the manager since being promoted to Melwood last month.

The former Ajax youngster was called up from the Kirkby Academy due to the Reds' defensive injury problems.

Clyne was initially a model of consistency following his £12million move to Anfield from Southampton in the summer of 2015.

During his first season at Liverpool he clocked up 52 appearances and another 41 followed in 2016/17 when he missed just one Premier League match.

However, his fortunes nosedived. A back injury suffered in July 2017 ultimately required surgery and after making his comeback for Liverpool Under-23s in February 2018, he failed to win his place back as Alexander-Arnold had grasped his chance.

Clyne, who is out of contract in the summer of 2020, played just five matches for the Reds last term and was an unused substitute for the Champions League final against Real Madrid in Kiev. This season has brought more of the same with just two starts in all competitions.

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Solanke Fee Agreed

Liverpool have agreed a £19million fee with Bournemouth for the sale of Dominic Solanke

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Liverpool have agreed the £19million sale of striker Dominic Solanke to Bournemouth.

The England Under-21s frontman is expected to pen a long-term contract with the Cherries after the two clubs thrashed out a deal.

Solanke had looked set to join Crystal Palace on loan earlier this week but that move collapsed with the Eagles citing concerns over his fitness.

The 21-year-old had been hampered by a muscle injury in recent weeks but is close to returning to action.

Bournemouth beat off competition from the likes of Brighton and Huddersfield Town. The ECHO understands that the initial fee is £19million and that could rise with add-ons.

That represents a shrewd piece of business by Reds sporting director Michael Edwards who negotiated the deal.

Solanke scored just once in 27 appearances for Liverpool and has failed to appear at all for Jurgen Klopp's side so far this season. He has found himself behind Mohamed Salah, Roberto Firmino, Daniel Sturridge and Divock Origi in the pecking order.

Liverpool signed Solanke from Chelsea after his contract expired in the summer of 2017.

As he was under 24, the Londoners were due compensation. Liverpool valued Solanke at around £3million with Chelsea demanding £10million.

Talks dragged on throughout last season before the two clubs agreed an undisclosed compromise fee to avoid it going to a tribunal.

Solanke will be joined at Bournemouth by Nathaniel Clyne, who is moving to the South Coast on loan for the rest of the season.

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Adam Lallana will not be leaving on loan

Let’s start with a bit of news about Adam Lallana shall we?

The Liverpool midfielder will not be allowed to leave Anfield on loan this month.

Lallana has been linked with a loan deal as he steps up his recovery from a groin strain that has restricted him to two Premier League starts this season but Jurgen Klopp is understood to want to reintegrate the Englishman into the first team.

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