The long-awaited Liverpool revival under returning supremo ‘King’ Kenny Dalglish appears to have got underway at last, with two EPL wins in four days this week.

Their 3-0 weekend win over strugglers Wolverhampton Wanderers was overshadowed by the furore over sexist remarks aimed at 25-year-old referee’s assistant Sian Massey by domestic TV broadcasters.

But the Reds built on Fernando Torres’ double and midfielder Raul Meireles’s 20-yard wonder strike with a 1-0 Anfield win over Fulham.

 

The game showcased the sort of luck conspicuously absent from Roy Hodgson’s time in the Anfield hotseat, with the winning goal coming from Fulham’s John Pantsil.

The consecutive victories moved Liverpool out of the EPL’s mid-table morass into seventh place.

And Liverpool’s transfer-window activity has centred on their under-performing strikeforce.

Perennially out-of-favour Dutchman Ryan Babel is on the way out and efforts being made to persuade Ajax’s Uruguayan World Cup star Luis Suarez to come to Merseyside.

Suarez is not, however, being considered as a replacement for struggling Spanish striker Torres, as club owners, Fenway Sports Group, have flatly rejected an apparently wide variety of offers from EPL title holders Chelsea.

Babel has signed for German Bundesliga side Hoffenheim on a two-and-a-half-year deal for an undisclosed fee believed to be in the region of £6m. The figure is therefore about half the £11.6m Liverpool paid to Amsterdam giants Ajax for the 24-year-old in July 2007.

Ajax have given Liverpool until tomorrow (Saturday) to finalise a deal for the 25-year-old Suarez. The clubs’ valuations of the player are currently £8.5m apart, with Liverpool having already had a £12.5m bid rejected.

Ajax insisted that Liverpool return with a “more respectful” bid, citing the £27m paid by big-spending Manchester City for Edin Dzeko as a benchmark. And Ajax coach Frank de Boer said: “Liverpool know what they’ve to pay and we’re sticking to our guns.”

Depending on which UK newspaper you believe, Chelsea have offered £35m (The Times), £40m (The Sun), £60m (Mirror) or “mind-boggling” (Express). A number of papers have noted that Torres had a “£50m get-out clause” in his contract.

But whatever the figure, a Liverpool spokesman said: “Chelsea have made a bid for Fernando which has been turned down. The player is not for sale.”

Liverpool are without a fixture this FA Cup weekend after their third round exit at arch-rivals Manchester United. They host Stoke City in their next EPL fixture next Wednesday evening.