The talismanic Uruguayan has swapped Anfield for Barcelona in a deal worth around £70m, but the Reds boss believes his side will still be in the title reckoning

Brendan Rodgers insists Liverpool will challenge for the Premier League next season despite the sale of Luis Suarez.

The Reds confirmed on Friday that they had reached an agreement for the sale of the controversial Uruguayan, after accepting an offer believed to be in the region of €88 million. 

Rodgers has already taken steps to rebalance his squad following the departure of the PFA and FWA Player of the Year, splashing out over €60m to bring Southampton duo Adam Lallana and Rickie Lambert, Bayer Leverkusen midfielder Emre Can and Benfica winger Lazar Markovic to Anfield.

Preparations for the new season got off to a sluggish start with a disappointing 2-1 defeat to Brondby on Wednesday but Rodgers remains adamant his side will be in the title reckoning once again.

“The sale of Suarez does not lessen our ambition,” he told reporters after the Brondby defeat. “We thank Luis for his contribution here but we move on, looking for the right players.

“We’ll go and do our best. Our best last year nearly won us the title.

“This year, we know it’s going to be extremely competitive. Every team will strengthen and we’ll be exactly the same. But the beauty for us is that we’re a young group and we’re bringing in young players that are hungry.

“We will progress again from last season. It’s going to be a really exciting season. I’ve seen development in the players already in the short period of time that we’ve been back.

“This season we have the belief to go along with the quality.

“We want to improve and continually improve. We’re working very hard behind the scenes, as we always do, in terms of getting the best quality players into the club.”

Kristoffer Peterson cancelled out Christian Norgaard’s first-half strike after fine work from the winger, only to see Ferhan Hasani net a stoppage-time winner for the hosts

Liverpool began their pre-season campaign with a 2-1 loss against Danish side Brondby, with Ferhan Hasani netting a stoppage-time winner for the hosts.

Brendan Rodgers included a mixture of youth and experience in his starting XI, with the likes of Daniel Agger, Philippe Coutinho and the returning Fabio Borini, who spent last season on loan at Sunderland, all featuring.

The Reds went behind in Denmark, however, as a mistake by Suso led to Christian Norgaard curling home past Brad Jones to give the hosts the lead.

Rodgers rang the changes at half-time and it was substitute Jordan Ibe who made a significant impact early on in the second period, racing down the left-hand side before squaring for Peterson to tap home for the equaliser.

Brondby continued to threatened, however, with Thomas Kahlenberg and Hasani both smashed the crossbar with free-kick efforts, with the Macedonian netting a last-gasp winner after a jinking run past two defenders.

More to follow…

Though he sees the acquisition of the Chilean forward from Barcelona as “a big step in the right direction”, the ex-England striker believes that the Gunners’ rivals are stronger

Arsenal will miss out on a top-four finish this season despite the arrival of Alexis Sanchez, Michael Owen says.

Optimism is high at Emirates Stadium following the Chile international’s arrival from Barcelona as they look to improve on last season’s fourth place finish.

While Owen acknowledged the forward’s quality, the former England player believes that Arsene Wenger’s side will struggle to qualify for the Champions League because of the strength of their rivals.

He told talkSPORT: “The signing of Sanchez has made everyone sit up and take note. I really do rate him, he’s a top player and it’s a big step in the right direction.

“But, in no particular order, my top four for next season would be Chelsea, Manchester City, Manchester United and Liverpool.”

Brendan Rodgers’s Liverpool were runners-up to City last season and Owen has warned his former side that they must improve if they wish to claim a first league title since 1990.

“If Liverpool are going to progress again, they probably need to get better again,” the 34-year-old told the club’s official website.

“Manchester City won the league, Chelsea have strengthened in a big way. From second to first is a big leap so Liverpool are going to need to be better again and the top-line performers are going to need to play as well, if not better.”

Liverpool have seen star man Luis Suarez depart for Barcelona, while England internationals Adam Lallana and Rickie Lambert have been among the Merseyside club’s close-season recruits to date.

“They are two good buys,” added Owen. “They were fantastic last year for Southampton and are proven in the Premier League.

“Lallana could be a star. He has done fantastically well, has great feet and lovely balance. I’m really looking forward to seeing him in the Liverpool shirt.”