Agent confirms Liverpool interest in signing Porto star Jackson Martinez

Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur have suffered blows in their ongoing pursuit of signing Jackson Martinez after a football agent confirmed Liverpool's interest in signing the Porto star.

The 28-year-old is attracting interest from the top clubs in England as the two north London clubs, along with Liverpool are keen on signing the Colombian international, who has a £27.5m release clause.

Peppino Tirri - an agent used by the Portuguese side when negotiating in Italy previously - says Brendan Rodgers' side are looking to beat Arsenal and Tottenham for Martinez's signature.

"Liverpool are in for Jackson. AC Milan? That's unlikely. Porto won't yield an inch from their €35m (£27.5m) release clause," the Express quoted Tirri as saying.

The Merseyside club have struggled with summer signings Mario Balotelli and Rickie Lambert in their attacking division. In addition to this, Daniel Sturridge is still out of action with multiple injuries he sustained in the last few months.

The addition of Martinez to Liverpool's squad could give the much needed boost for the Reds in the second half of the season.

Meanwhile, Martinez's agent Henrique Pompeu claims his client is happy in Portugal and is not looking for a switch in the mid-season transfer window.

"He is happy. He wants to be champion in Portugal and go far in the Champions League," Pompeu explained.

"There is plenty of talk, but he has an agreement with Porto and will respect it. He won't leave in January," he added.

Liverpool settled for a goalless draw against Sunderland at Anfield on Saturday. The former Swansea boss believes the Reds lacked intensity in the first half and also heaped praise in the manner the visitors defended.

"The first half was a little slow in intensity - there wasn't too much happening in the game. The second half was much better," Rodgers said.

"Teams maybe come here a little bit deeper this year, and you've got to give Sunderland credit today as well - they defended well."

"Our intention was obviously to go and win the game. In the second half, we pressed the game much better and had enough pressure in the right areas but the ball wouldn't drop to us and we maybe needed a little bit of luck," he explained.