Liverpool Prepare £25m Bid for Benfica Striker Rodrigo - Report

Liverpool are preparing a £25m bid for Benfica striker Rodrigo in the summer, according to the Mirror.

The 23-year-old has come of age this season, scoring 10 goals thus far in the league. He also scored in Benfica's 3-1 win over Tottenham in the Europa League on Thursday and has been tipped to become a player to reckon with in the future.

Born in Brazil, the striker shifted to Spain at a young age and has been representing them in the youth level. The striker started his career at Celta Vigo before moving to Real Madrid as a youngster.

However, he failed to make the cut there and transferred to Benfica in 2010 from where he was sent on a season-long loan to Bolton where he scored only once in 23 appearances.

His development since then has moved by leaps and bounds and has been a major force in Benfica's bid to lift the Portuguese Cup.

Liverpool will face competition from the likes of Zenit St. Petersburg for his signature who are also interested in the forward but the lure of the Premier League football and subsequent Premier League action is likely to reign supreme if a bidding war ensues between the two clubs.

Arsenal were also interested in the striker last January but are yet to make an official contact with the club in that regard.

The Reds do not have a dearth of strikers at the club with Luis Suarez and Daniel Sturridge porving to be among the best partnerships in Europe this season under the stewardship of Brendan Rodgers.

However, an injury to either of them shall leave the manager with only Iago Aspas to look forward to. But he has failed to live up to expectations after his much touted move from Celta Vigo last summer.

Rodrigo's arrival will give the club some much-needed strength in depth, which will be needed after the Merseyside club all but confirmed their participation in the Champions League next season after their 3-0 thrashing of Manchester United at Old Trafford. The Reds are currently second in the league, four points behind Chelsea with a game in hand.