Liverpool are ready to rebuff the advances of Bayern Munich for their star forward Luis Suarez in the summer, with the German giants lining up a mega bid.

Suarez has been the best Liverpool player by a mile this season, and has single-handedly taken the Reds into the top half of the table and in contention for a top-four place.

While Suarez's performance might have made him a serious candidate for the English Premier League PFA player of the year, it has also caught the attentions of German giants Bayern Munich, who will have Pep Guardiola at their helm from next season.

Guardiola is a huge admirer of Suarez, and is ready to make a £40 million ($64 million) bid for the 25-year-old, according to the Sunday People.

The former Barcelona manager is quietly confident of landing the striker, as his brother is Suarez's agent. However, Liverpool are set to hold firm, and are hoping a top-four finish can persuade the striker to remain at Anfield.

Suarez, who again starred for the Reds in their 5-0 win over Norwich Saturday, has repeatedly asserted his commitment to the Liverpool cause, saying he has no plans to move to a different club, with Juventus reportedly showing serious interest in the forward last summer.

However, if Liverpool were to finish outside the top-four, Suarez might find it difficult to say no to a move to Bayern, who are in cruise control in the Bundesliga at the moment, and are only expected to get better with Guardiola's arrival.

Steven Gerrard said he was hopeful Suarez would stay at Liverpool for years to come, while defending the striker, after Suarez admitted to diving against Stoke in the Premier League earlier this season.

"He'll learn from it," Gerrard added. "People want to talk about the things he does wrong in the game, but for me, I just want to praise him and how lucky we are to have him at Liverpool, and hopefully we can keep him for a long time.

"He uses every blade of grass, even close to the lines in the opposition area, you know, parts of the pitch that you don't even run on. He uses everything, he turns and twists, he's impossible to mark. He's just torture to mark."

The Liverpool skipper insisted the Uruguayan was the best striker he had ever played with.

"He's probably the best player I've played with," Gerrard told Sky Sports. "Outside Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, I'll argue with anyone that he's as good as anyone else."