It had been reported that the 30-year-old Mozambique centre-back, who was pictured with Gerrard in France last week, had been offered a three-year contract.

However, although Gerrard admitted to being an admirer of the player, he said a deal was unlikely.

"I think people are putting a lot of speculation out there," he said.

"I went to watch Rennes v Monaco to analyse a lot of players, bumped into numerous players after the game, and was asked for a picture.

"We are looking for centre-backs and Mexer is a good player we admire, but what I'm led to believe is that he'll be playing his football in France next year."