Liverpool skipper Steven Gerrard working on Luis Suarez to convince him to stay

Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard has revealed his talking regularly to Luis Suarez in an attempt to convince the wantaway striker to stay at Anfield.

The Uruguay international is desperate to leave the club, with Arsenal his most likely destination. But Gerrard has not yet given up on talking Suarez into committing his future to Liverpool.

He told the Liverpool Echo: “I’ve spoken to Luis loads and of course I’m trying to get him to stay.

“We will have to wait and see if I have any joy. It’s a difficult one from a team-mate’s perspective as you’ve got to show a player respect. Luis is his own guy and makes his own decisions. But Luis Suarez knows what I want him to do, don’t worry about that.”

Gerrard said that keeping hold of the 26-year-old would make him the Reds’ best signing of the summer.

He continued: “He’s the third best player in the world. You’ve got Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo who are on a different planet then you’ve got Suarez and Gareth Bale.

“It’s difficult to finish in the top four because of the power the likes of Man City, Chelsea and Manchester United have got at the moment. The likes of us, Tottenham and Arsenal are fighting to sneak into the other place that’s available.

“Where we sit right now all depends on what decision Luis Suarez makes in the next few weeks. If we lose him then the challenge becomes even more difficult for Liverpool. It’s that simple.

“If we get the couple of marquee signings we need and keep Luis that will give me confidence that we can compete. Keeping Luis could be our best signing of the summer.”