Liverpool have turned down a bid of £25m plus add-ons from Manchester City for forward Raheem Sterling.
The Reds value the England international, who has also been linked with Arsenal and Real Madrid, at £50m.
The 20-year-old joined Liverpool from QPR in 2010 and is under contract until 2017, but has rejected the offer of a new £100,000-a-week deal.
Boss Brendan Rodgers said last month he expected Sterling to stay at Anfield for the remainder of his current deal.
The bid comes a day after City chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak pledged to invest in players this summer.
“You will see us in the market bringing in high-quality individuals that fit within what we are aspiring to,” he said.
“We want a squad which is able and has the capability and quality to win the Premier League, to compete and win the Champions League and be able to go all the way in two cup competitions in England.”
City and England goalkeeper Joe Hart believes his club are planning to buy British this summer to avoid breaking Uefa competition rules, which require a quota of home-grown players in each squad.
Hart is the only Englishman left in the City first-team squad following the departures of Frank Lampard and James Milner.
“With home-grown rules, it will be top of their list to bring in English players or to promote some of the young lads,” he said.
Sterling was an influential figure as Liverpool came close to winning the Premier League in 2013-14, eventually finishing second to City.
But the Merseysiders struggled this season, finishing sixth.
Former Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard said Sterling had the chance to become the club’s “number one player” by staying at Anfield.
Sterling was booed by sections of the crowd at last weekend’s international in Dublin as England drew with Republic of Ireland.
Aside from the links with City, new Real Madrid boss Rafael Benitezhas admitted he “admires” Sterling.
Former Reds striker John Aldridge has criticised Sterling’s agent Aidy Ward, who said last month that his player would not sign a new deal at Anfield even it was worth “£900,000 a week”.
Aldridge told BBC Radio 5 live: ‘The way he has gone about handling the situation with Raheem is pathetic. He is better off where he is and his agent should see this. I feel sorry for the lad.”
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