Liverpool Boss Brendan Rodgers Targets Swansea Striker Wilfried Bony

Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers is reportedly keen on landing striker Wilfried Bony from Swansea City.

According to the Mirror, the Reds boss has earmarked the Ivorian striker as his number one target to replace Luis Suarez, who left for Barcelona earlier in the summer.

Bony has long been linked with a move away from the south Wales club, and reports claimed that along with Liverpool, Premier League rivals Tottenham Hotspur are also interested in signing the Ivory Coast forward.

However, both the clubs had cooled their interest in the striker owing to Swansea's hefty demands and reluctance to accept anything less than the £19m release-clause present in the player's contract.

With Daniel Sturridge and Rickie Lambert being the only out-and-out strikers in the squad, Rodgers has been urged to sign a quality striker ahead of the new season, especially to cover the loss of the Uruguayan, who was the Premier League's top goal scorer last season.

It is now believed that Rodgers is ready to meet the release-clause, but is finding it difficult to convince the Liverpool hierarchy to accept that the striker is worth the price being quoted by the Swans.

Meanwhile, Liverpool's new signing Emre Can is hoping to make his first appearance for the club at Anfield when the Reds take on Borussia Dortmund in their final friendly before the start of the Premier League season.

"I am really hoping that I can get on the pitch and make my first appearance at Anfield on Sunday. I am really looking forward to that," Can said, as quoted on Liverpool's official site.

The former Bayer Leverkusen midfielder is also looking forward to playing in the Champions League for his new club and believes that it will be great for the supporters to see Liverpool back in the competition after missing out on it in the past few seasons.

"I am really confident about us going into the Champions League this season. The whole team, the whole club and the city is looking forward to getting back in the Champions League because Liverpool haven't played there for a couple of years," the Reds midfielder added.