Arsenal Transfer News 2013: Liverpool Stars Want Luis Suarez to Stay Put

Will Luis Suarez remain with Liverpool?

At the moment, it seems that the club's desire to earn 50 million pounds for a buyout has turned off potential suitors. However, the transfer saga has made it clear that the striker's position with the club is tentative at best and a move could be imminent.

Despite the buzz, a number of Liverpool players are openly asking the striker to remain with the club.

"Luis is the best footballer I've ever played with and alongside Gareth Bale, Luis is the third best player in the world after Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo at the moment," said Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard in a Daily Telegraph interview.

Gerrard noted that Suarez may want to join a club competing in Europe, something that Liverpool has not done since 2010-11.

"When you're in that position, you're going to get all kinds of teams wanting to pull you away, especially when you are at a club not in the Champions League," he said. "Knowing the guy as I do that's probably the thing on his mind: wanting to be in the Champions League and I'd say to him: 'Give it one more year, see if we can achieve that."

Defenseman Glen Johnson also made an appeal to the Uruguayan star.

"We are building under [manager Brendan Rodgers.] With the owners that we have got now, you can see the foundations are there and everything is going the right way," he said. "If we can keep the players that we have got here then everything looks promising. The members of staff, the players - we are all the same. We want to keep Luis here."

Rodgers also commented on his striker's situation and noted that Suarez has been professional about the entire situation.

"It's a story that can keep running but, for me, there is no new news. Luis is happy. He totally understands the club's point of view," Rodgers told reporters, according to ESPN. "But he's working hard and remains part of the group. He needs to get up to speed, and we will continue to work to get all the players ready for the first game of the season."

Arsenal and Real Madrid have been among the teams linked with the star forward. Arsenal made three bids for the star, including a 40,000,0001 pound offer on its third attempt.