Anfield Road

PEPE REINA has told Cadena Ser, a radio station in Spain, that although he finds reported interest from Barcelona “flattering”, there hasn’t been any contact he’s aware of and that he and his family are happy in Liverpool.

“I have three more years with Liverpool,” said the Reds keeper. “I’m satisfied, comfortable and my family are very happy. Rumours are difficult to control but it’s flattering when a club like Barca are interested in you. I don’t know if there has been contact between the clubs or with my agent. At the moment I don’t think there’s anything serious.

“I don’t know how long I’ve got left in football, what I do know is I want to enjoy what remains and feel appreciated and at Liverpool I have that.”

Reina’s time at Barcelona was before their recent return to dominance; he moved to Villareal in 2002: “The years I was in Barcelona were very good, I don’t have any bad feelings about not succeeding there. I played more than 50 games when I was less than 20, it helped me grow a lot. I would have liked to have played there more, of course, but there’s no need to over-dramatise things.”

Rumours about Reina’s future are likely to continue until the transfer window closes.

Meanwhile there are strong links between Liverpool and a number of possible new signings in defence. With Jamie Carragher retiring on Sunday and doubts about the futures of Sebastian Coates and Martin Skrtel there could be a break in the recent club policy of signing players 24 years old or younger with one signing decidely more veteran than Liverpool’s last bunch of signings.

That older player strongly linked to Anfield is Manchester City’s Kole Touré. The 32-year-old becomes a free agent this summer and is now reported to be set for a medical with Liverpool after his club’s post-season tour.

Kyriakos Papadopoulos, Schalke’s Greek international defender, is also being mentioned in reports today and the Liverpool Echo suggest Liverpool are willing to pay £12m for the 21-year-old.

20-year-old Tiago Ilori, of Sporting Lisbon, could sign for around £3m with 24-year-old Toby Alderweireld, of Ajax, also getting a mention in reports.