Liverpool Plan £30m Bid For Arsenal Striker Target Jackson Martinez - Report

Liverpool are believed to be preparing a bid for Porto star Jackson Martinez with the side hopeful of beating Arsenal to his signature in January.

Brendan Rodgers was lauded for bringing in Mario Balotelli as a possible replacement for Luis Suarez in the summer but the Italian has failed to set the Premier League on fire in the same way he did at Manchester City.

And according to the Express, the manager will now sign another striker in the hopes of recreating the goals scored by Suarez, who left Liverpool for Barcelona in the summer.

Arsenal have long been an admirer of Martinez, but a deal never eventuated in the last transfer window with Arsene Wenger beefing up his attacking line-up with Alexis Sanchez instead.

The Columbia international, who has scored 76 times in 106 appearances for Porto, insisted in September that he wasn't interested in leaving his current club at this stage.

"It is normal to attract interest from other clubs when a player is in good form. But I limit myself to playing and there are other people who take care of the rest," Martinez said, as quoted in the Express.

"I simply want to enjoy each day and not talk about the future. Everything comes together in time.

"Will I continue [at Porto]? Right now, yes. It will be quiet today and tomorrow will also be quiet. I'm happy to be at Porto and, as I said, the rest does not concern me."

But Liverpool are reportedly preparing a £30million offer to tempt Porto into parting with one of their top players, and with the side willing to offer Martinez a starting role immediately as they struggle to juggle Champions League and Premier League football, he might be tempted as well.