Liverpool are set to offer Gelson Martins a huge bumper pay rise in order to push through a deal this month. The Reds are currently weighing up their options with £142million available from Philippe Coutinho’s sale to Spanish giants Barcelona.

Jurgen Klopp is looking for an ideal replacement for the Brazilian playmaker and the Merseysiders have been linked with a lot of names. Thomas Lemar and Riyad Mahrez have been heavily linked with moves to Anfield in recent weeks but Arsenal remain keen on the duo as well.

Another player linked with a move to Merseyside in recent months is Sporting Lisbon winger Martins. Portuguese publication Correio da Manha claim that Liverpool are extremely interested in the player and are ready to do anything to make the deal happen this month.

The report adds that the Portuguese international has a £53m release clause in his contract and Liverpool are only prepared to pay around £26.5m. However, it is said that the Reds are ready to pay more than five times what Martins currently earns in the Primeira Liga. Liverpool are reportedly offering him wages worth £4.4m-a-year.

Martins, who predominantly plays on the right wing, has scored 9 goals in 29 matches in all competitions this season for Sporting. However, Sporting are unlikely to accept Liverpool’s low bid for one of the team’s star players. Martins was linked with us last summer prior to Mohamed Salah’s arrival. He is highly rated in his native land and has won an impressive 15 international caps since his debut in 2016.

The winger is under contract in Lisbon until 2022 and the club are clearly doing all they can to hold on to the youngster. The 22-year-old has proven himself to be a top talent and a great prospect for the future, not only for Sporting but also for Portugal as we saw at the Confederations Cup last summer.

Martin’s explosive pace, trickery and flair can be frightening for the opposition defence and Klopp certainly relishes the prospect of bringing the Portuguese to Anfield. However, the Sporting wide man is not considered as a like-to-like replacement for Coutinho, who played in the deeper midfield role and created goalscoring chances at Liverpool.

Perhaps, Klopp could also look at some other players to efficiently spend that money they received for their former Brazilian playmaker.