Liverpool join chase for Rodriguez

Liverpool have joined the race to sign Southampton striker Jay Rodriguez, according to the Mirror.

The England international has been side-lined since picking up a serious knee injury in the Saints 4-1 defeat to Manchester City back in April, but is closing in on a return to first team action.

Should the 25 year old get the all clear, he is set to be the subject of an intense transfer battle with Tottenham Hotspur and Man City also linked with a move to secure his services, though Reds boss Brendan Rodgers is keen to steal a march on his rivals.

Rodriguez has scored twenty-six goals in seventy-six appearances in all competitions for Southampton since signing from Burnley in the summer of 2012, with his goals to games ratio for the Clarets almost as impressive while his only senior international cap so far came in a 2-0 friendly defeat to Chile in November 2013.