The Spanish club’s president Jose Castro admits Brendan Rodgers is targeting the left-back but insists the 21-year-old will not be allowed to leave on the cheap

Sevilla president Jose Castro has confirmed Liverpool are interested in signing Alberto Moreno this summer.

The left-back has been linked with a switch to Brendan Rodgers’ side and narrowly missed out on a place in Spain’s 23-man World Cup squad.

Castro insists the club would be open to granting Moreno a move to Anfield but is adamant the 21-year-old will not leave in a cut-price deal.

“It’s true that there’s interest from Liverpool and we’re waiting to see if that turns into a reality, which right now, it isn’t,” Castro told the club’s television channel.

“What I’m clear about is that we’ll not force anyone to stay at Sevilla.

“Whoever wants to leave can do so, but we’ll be the ones setting the prices.

“This club is experiencing a time of economic stability and we don’t need to sell.

“We’re going to be firm about this and we’ll only consider selling outside the market, which gives us the opportunity to make our team competitive.”

Having already secured a deal for Southampton striker Rickie Lambert, Liverpool have also submitted a final £25 million bid for Adam Lallana.

offering free bets for every goal scored by your chosen top scorer this summer, Al Hain-Cole thinks there is money to be made in backing the Dutchman

With the majority of the game’s most dangerous attackers strutting their stuff at the World Cup in Brazil, picking a Golden Boot winner is no easy feat.

However, Paddy Power’s offer of a free £5 bet for every goal scored by any player you back at £20 to finish as top scorer means sticking your neck out could make for an extremely lucrative summer. Simply place a £20 win or £10 each way bet on the market to qualify.

Considering five goals have been enough to lift the Golden Boot at each of the last two tournaments, one prolific group stage match could propel a striker towards glory this time out.

It is therefore no surprise to see Lionel Messi as the current 7/1 (8.00) favourite to finish top of the pile, with Argentina’s Group F opposition of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Iran and Nigeria offering ample opportunity for a rout or two.

Similarly, Gonzalo Higuain 22/1 (23.00) and Sergio Aguero 14/1 (15.00) will also be licking their lips at the prospect of testing out those less than illustrious opposition defences as part of an awe-inspiring frontline.

While Croatia, Mexico and Cameroon may offer slightly more of a test in the group stages, home advantage sees Brazil’s star man Neymar as 11/1 (12.00) second favourite, while Fred is on offer at 22/1 (23.00) after finishing as top scorer at last summer’s Confederations Cup.

Elsewhere, Cristiano Ronaldo is available at 16/1 (17.00) despite Portugal’s relatively tricky group, having struck 11 goals in his last seven internationals.

Although he was the top scorer in South American qualification, odds of 22/1 (23.00) are probably worth avoiding on Luis Suarez continuing his prolific form in Brazil considering his recent injury concerns.

Similarly, despite four goals in two games against Luxembourg and Sweden taking his international tally to nine, Romelu Lukaku does not look too appealing at 25/1 (26.00) after scoring just twice in qualifying and bearing in mind Belgium’s inexperience at this level.

Robin Van Persie, on the other hand, appears under valued at 33/1 (34.00) after out-scoring everyone else in European qualification with 11 goals, with the Netherlands’ all-time top scorer surely worth backing at that price in spite of a difficult group.

Alternatively, Karim Benzema and Thomas Muller both present enticing options at those same 33/1 (34.00) odds, as they are expected to lead the attack for two teams expected to go far this summer.

Bet £20 on the World Cup Top Goalscorer market and get a free £5 bet every time that player scores!

Al Hain-Cole is a Liverpool fan, experienced tipster and avid follower of European football. He specialises in accumulators and if you would like to read more from Al you can follow him on Twitter here.

The striker was painted as the villain of the 2010 World Cup after handballing on the line against Ghana, but the Sunderland boss says that is normal behaviour for Uruguayans

Sunderland manager Gus Poyet has defended fellow Uruguayan Luis Suarez from accusations that he is a cheat, but says he will do “whatever it takes” to beat England at the World Cup.

Suarez will line up for his country against the Three Lions on June 19 in Sao Paulo, if he recovers from the knee injury which required surgery at the end of May.

The Liverpool striker’s last World Cup campaign was shrouded in controversy after he was sent off for a handball on the line against Ghana in the quarter-finals of the tournament in South Africa in 2010.

But Poyet says Uruguayans do not consider such actions cheating, and warned that England will have to toughen up this summer: “In England, you thought he was the villain of the last World Cup because he handled the ball on the line in the last minute, but what I am about to say is very normal for me and I hope you take it well…

“I know that, for you, handball on the line is cheating, but it’s not for us – it’s part of the game.

“If I’m the last man and I pull your shirt as you go past me, you go down and I get sent off, is that cheating? No, it’s not – you take a red card as the last man. Fine. Our reaction is the same as Suarez’s handball.

“We don’t know what all the fuss was about. He saved it, he was sent off, it was a penalty. For us, it’s worse when you get away with something that nobody sees, like punching someone off the ball. Should Suarez say, ‘It was handball, send me off’? No, we don’t do that. Everyone saw it.

“Uruguay will do whatever it takes to beat England. If I accept you’re better than me, I lose. How can I?”

Poyet says there will be ways to stop Suarez, but insisted Roy Hodgson’s men are “too nice” and that Uruguay will put up more of a fight.

“Have England got anyone who can stop Suarez? You will need to pay extra attention because he is special,” he continued.

“Are you helping me here? Are you covering me? Are you stopping them from playing? Sticking to you a little bit, grabbing you, being stronger than you. Whatever it takes to win the game – yeah, we do that, and we are proud of it.

“I think that’s a way you win more than you lose. Do you want to win the game of football more than me? You’ve got no chance, because I will do more than you to win.

“England are too nice, they need to get tougher. I don’t think that’s the only reason, but it’s a different way of suffering in the game. Running, giving it your all, being good on the ball, accepting responsibility, be together, helping each other, sorting out problems, sort it out. You’re on the pitch.

“Everybody tries different ways to stop Lionel Messi – and the one who stops him has a great chance. I’m not saying you have to kill him, or shoot him, but under the rules of the game there are things you can do to stop a special player.”

The Sunderland boss, who made 26 international appearances between 1993 and 2000, also gave an insight into the Uruguayan psyche.

“You know the discussion going on all over the world that you cannot make kids of seven or eight play to win…? Well, in Uruguay you need to win at six.

“It is a way of living and learning. Players have to win games at a very early age.

“I tried to change that – I worked for two years as chairman of a big organisation governing children from five to 13 and I tried to convince them to slow down and not be so crazy about winning.

“What happened? Nothing – it is not in our culture.”