Thomas Lemar was happy to join Liverpool or Arsenal this summer, Monaco vice-president Vadim Vasilyev claims.

Both clubs were in for the France international, 21.

The Reds made an £82m offer for the winger, while the Gunners are said to have agreed a £92m fee with Monaco, only for Lemar to turn down Arsene Wenger.

However, Monaco chief Vasilyev says Lemar wanted to join Liverpool or Arsenal this summer but the Ligue 1 champions blocked the move.

Vasilyev said: “It was not easy. Thomas wanted to go to Arsenal and to Liverpool, but we had discussions and we took a communal decision so that he could stay here.

“He is a very important player for us.

“We could not have sold him, it would have affected the entire team and the individuals.”

Liverpool should have sold Philippe Coutinho to Barcelona, Reds hero Graeme Souness claims.

Barca made three bids for the Brazil international but Liverpool refused to sell their star man, despite him handing in a transfer request.

And pundit Souness says Liverpool were wrong to keep hold of Coutinho, claiming the 25-year-old could dampen the dressing room spirit.

“Going forward, what sort of Coutinho is Jurgen Klopp going to have around the place?” Souness wrote in The Sunday Times.

“There will be some players in the dressing-room who are not terribly happy with him and everyone will be keeping a close eye on him.

“Will he still be the same committed Coutinho from past seasons? Only he can answer that.

“I would have accepted an offer in excess of £100m for him.”

Souness also says Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain snubbed Chelsea because of Antonio Conte’s plan to play him as a wing-back.

The England international rejected a new Arsenal deal worth £180,000-a-week, telling the Gunners he would not sign a new contract at the Emirates.

Chelsea then agreed a fee for the 24-year-old, only for Oxlade-Chamberlain to reject a move to Stamford Bridge and join Liverpool.

And Souness says the former Southampton star snubbed Chelsea because he didn’t want to play as a wing-back under Conte.

“The initial £35m that Liverpool have paid for Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain is a very high figure for a player coming to the end of his contract at Arsenal,” Souness wrote in The Sunday Times.

“Oxlade-Chamberlain chose Liverpool rather than Chelsea because he did not want to be a wing-back.

“He sees himself dropping the shoulder and going past people in the central midfield area. I don’t see him as a wing-back either. He is the wrong shape for it.”