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THURSDAY 3 |
Turks claim Kewell signing
Turkish champions Galatasaray have announced the signing of
former Liverpool attacker Harry Kewell on a three-year
contract.
Kewell had been available on a free transfer after not being
offered a new deal at Anfield following five injury-plagued
seasons with the club.
Portsmouth had been linked with a bid to keep the Australian
in the Premier League, while Roma had been tipped to sign
the 29-year-old.
The former Leeds United star had been coy regarding the
rumours of
a move to Italian giants Roma when quizzed on his future
last month.
However, Kewell looks to have decided to head for Turkey
after Galatasaray confirmed the signing on the club's
official website.
The winger played against Galatasaray during his Leeds
career when he was sent off in the Uefa Cup semi-final
second leg in 2000.
Liverpool also met Galatasaray during the group phase of the
UEFA Champions League in 2006/07, although Kewell missed
both matches
due to injury.
Should the move go through then Kewell will be unable to
feature for his country at the 2008 Beijing Olympics as he
will commit himself to settling in his new surroundings.
(Sky Sports)
Degen signs Reds contract
Swiss full-back Philipp Degen has officially completed his
free transfer move to Liverpool.
Degen was available on a Bosman deal after opting against
signing a new contract at Borussia Dortmund.
Liverpool confirmed in May that Degen was on his way to
Anfield and
the right-back signed his four-year contract on Thursday.
He was part of Switzerland's Euro 2008 squad and will vie
with Alvaro Arbeloa and Steve Finnan for a starting spot
next season.
At the time of the signing, Reds boss Rafa Benitez admitted
it was important to pick up free transfers in order to use
his money on other areas of the squad.
"Sometimes you can find these players on the market," said
Benitez
on the club's official website.
"When you find a player like him who costs no money it means
you can use money for improving other parts of the squad.
"He is a good signing, a player of potential, who can help
us improve in the wide areas."
(Sky Sports)
O'Neill urges Reds to complete deal
Martin O'Neill is resigned to Gareth Barry leaving Aston
Villa - and now wants Liverpool to match his price tag and
finally get the deal done.
Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez has made four separate bids
for
the player, but so far has not met O'Neill's £18million
valuation.
On Wednesday, the saga took a another bitter turn when
O'Neill fined his club skipper two weeks' wages - around
£80,000 - following a Sunday newspaper article in which
Barry severely criticised his manager's handling of the
situation, claiming he had not made enough effort to keep
him at
the club.
Then Barry was told he was not welcome at pre-season
training. That situation is unlikely to change until Villa
have left for their training camp next week.
O'Neill last night turned down a fourth Liverpool bid,
reputed to be around £15million as the summer-long saga
reached stalemate again.
But O'Neill has now challenged Benitez to pay up. He told
Villa's official website: "We are really disappointed that
he (Barry) is not going to be with us, he has made his mind
up to go to Liverpool.
"You can talk and you can talk and talk but the bottom line
was that when he came back from the England game in Trinidad
and Tobago, he told me he wanted to leave.
"When somebody says they want to leave a football club,
there is not much else you can do about it.
"We had a meeting a few weeks before that, Randy (Lerner),
myself, Gareth and his agent and he said that Champions
League football was what he wanted to do."
(TEAMtalk)
Rafa rues Agger loss
Rafael Benitez says Liverpool missed Daniel Agger last
season.
Agger picked up a metatarsal injury in September that ruled
him out for
the rest of the season and Rafa Benitez says the Dane's
absence cost
the Reds a title challenge.
"I think it cost us early in the season. We conceded goals
at the end of games which finished as draws because Sami
Hyypia and Jamie Carragher were playing too many games in a
row," the Liverpool boss told the club's official website.
"We were using Jack Hobbs in some games and Alvaro Arbeloa
as
a centre-back; clearly we missed Daniel Agger.
"He is a centre-back but good on the ball and a threat for
the other team too. We missed Agger."
(LFC Online)
Reds in for Brazilian keeper
Palmeiras goalkeeper Diego Cavalieri has made the trip to
Europe to secure a work permit, amid suggestions he is on
his way to Liverpool.
The 25-year-old is only second choice at Palmeiras, but
local press reports suggest he has caught the eye of
Liverpool who have not been deterred by his reported £3
million asking price.
(Setanta Sports)
Hungarian trio on trial at LFC
Liverpool Football Club is giving trials to three youngsters
from
MTK Hungaria.
Defenders David Kelemen and Norbert Ode, as well as
midfielder Zsolt Poloskei, are currently training with Gary
Ablett's reserve squad.
The arrival of the trio, aged 16 and 17, is a product of the
continuing link between Liverpool and MTK Hungaria.
Last year Peter Gulacsi, Krisztian Nemeth and Andras Simon
arrived
from Hungary.
Though all three impressed staff at Melwood, Nemeth in
particular took
the reserve league by storm, scoring nine goals to help
clinch
the national title.
(LFC Official Website)
Five Reds set for Euro U19s
Five Liverpool players are set to feature in the European
U19 Championships in the Czech Republic later this summer.
Goalkeeper Dean Bouzanis will represent Greece, while Miki
San Jose
will bid to help Spain retain the title. Peter Gulacsi,
Krisztian Nemeth and Andras Simon will all feature for a
talented Hungarian side.
The draw has pitted Spain in the same group as Hungary –
meaning
a clash of Reds is on the cards. These two will also have to
battle it out against Germany and Bulgaria.
The other group sees England, Greece, Italy and Czech
Republic go
head to head.
The tournament gets underway on July 14.
(LFC Official Website)
Masch named in Olympic squad
Reds midfielder Javier Mascherano has been named in
Argentina’s 18 man squad for the Oympics and will therefore
miss the start of the new Premier League season.
Mascherano will miss the opening fixtures against Sunderland
and Middlesbrough but should be back for the Aston Villa
match
on August 30th.
The midfield enforcer will also miss the Champions League
qualifiers
on Aug 12/13 and 26/27.
(This is Anfield) |
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WEDNESDAY 2 |
Trap tells Keane to join Reds
New Republic of Ireland manager Giovanni Trapattoni has
risked
a diplomatic incident with Tottenham Hotspur after
recommending that his captain, Robbie Keane, should join
Liverpool.
It has been reported in recent days that Liverpool have made
a player-plus-cash offer for the striker although
suggestions that Keane subsequently put in a transfer
request have been played down.
Neither club has made any official comment on the transfer
rumours but what is certain is that Keane – who is
contracted to Spurs until 2012 - supported The Reds as a
child.
The North London club are likely to resist any attempts to
prise Keane from White Hart Lane but the striker’s manager
at international level, Trapattoni, believes the chance of
playing Champions League football would benefit both player
and country.
"I don’t know what is happening with Liverpool at the moment
but I would be very happy for him (to move),” said
Trapattoni in Thursday’s Daily Mail.
“I hope it happens for him because it will be a big
challenge. It would be important for him and important for
us.”
(Setanta Sports)
Portsmouth to step up
bid for Crouch
Portsmouth are ready to step up their bid to sign Liverpool
striker Peter Crouch as it emerged that the FA Cup winners
are heading for
a showdown with Kanu over his contract demands.
After playing more than 20 matches for the Fratton Park
outfit last season, the 31-year-old Nigerian triggered the
offer of a new one-year deal as stipulated in the contract
he signed with the club last summer.
However Kanu, who netted the winning goal against Cardiff in
last season’s FA Cup final to give the south coast club
their first major trophy for 58 years, is now expected to
tell them he wants a two-year deal.
(Liverpool Daily Post)
Villa punish unsettled Barry
Aston Villa have disciplined Gareth Barry after the captain
criticised manager Martin O'Neill in a weekend interview.
Barry wants to quit Villa in order to join Liverpool, who
have seen bids rejected by their Premier League rivals.
On Sunday, the midfielder again expressed his wish to move
on this summer and accused O'Neill of not taking the time to
discuss
the situation.
O'Neill has subsequently admitted that he is prepared to
sanction Barry's departure providing Liverpool meet Villa's
asking price.
Reports have claimed that the Reds have made a final
£15million offer, plus add-ons, in a bid to tempt Villa into
a sale.
Villa boss O'Neill has denied receiving a fresh bid from
Liverpool and has also confirmed Barry will be punished as a
result of his outburst.
"There's no truth in this morning's reports and the
situation remains
the same," O'Neill told the club's official website.
"Gareth will not be returning to training tomorrow and he
has been disciplined after giving an unauthorised interview
to
the News of the World."
(Sky Sports)
Insua pens new Anfield deal
Liverpool youngster Emiliano Insua has today put pen to
paper on
a new three year Anfield deal.
The Argentine full-back - who has made five first team
appearances for the club - has signed a deal to keep him on
Merseyside until June 2011.
The 19-year-old is a regular for his country's under-20 team
and was a key performer in Liverpool's second string landing
the league title last season.
(LFC Official Website) |
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TUESDAY 1 |
Winger agrees Liverpool contract
Paul Anderson has agreed a new contract at Liverpool
Football Club.
The 19-year-old winger is rated as a star of the future by
the Anfield coaches, who were keen to secure his services on
a long-term basis after impressing over the past two years.
The former Hull City youngster has now penned a new deal
which will keep him on Merseyside until the summer of 2011,
by which time he will hope to be a regular with the Reds.
Anderson spent last season with League One title winners
Swansea City, and he had the chance to link up with them
again next term but will instead head to Nottingham Forest
for a temporary spell.
(Fans FC)
Liverpool face battle for Keane
Liverpool have launched a surprise move to sign Tottenham
striker
Robbie Keane - but may be priced out of a deal for
the Republic of Ireland star.
Spurs boss Juande Ramos is an admirer of Liverpool forward
Peter Crouch and Anfield boss Rafael Benitez is happy to
make him part of
an exchange deal.
BBC Sport understands Liverpool would be willing to offer
Crouch plus cash to sign 28-year-old Keane.
But they fear Spurs will demand £20m for Keane, wrecking
a possible deal.
Spurs have not received a transfer request from Keane,
despite reports claiming he had demanded to leave White Hart
Lane.
(BBC Sport Online)
Alonso holiday delays Anfield exit
Liverpool midfielder Xabi Alonso will not be rushed out of
the Anfield exit door and insists no decision will be made
about his future until he returns from holiday.
The Spain international has been tipped for a £16 million
move to Juventus, with Rafa Benitez reportedly keen to
offload the Spain international to raise funds.
Alonso, who has been granted three weeks’ holiday following
Spain’s successful Euro 2008 campaign, maintains he has “no
idea” where he will be playing next season.
"I have no idea [what the future holds]. Right now I am just
thinking about going on holiday, sitting back and relaxing,”
he told guillembalague.com.
"We all need time to sit back and think about what we
(Spain) achieved and to take it all in.
"I will be able to think about all that has gone on and what
is going to happen regarding my future later on. We will see
what happens when I get back."
Alonso has been heavily linked with a move away from
Anfield, as Benitez looks to raise the money to bring in
Gareth Barry from Aston Villa.
(Setanta Sports)
New blow for LFC stadium
as NWDA witholds £9m
The Northwest Development Agency has refused to hand over a
£9m grant for Liverpool FC’s new stadium project until the
club proves it has got the money for the £350m scheme.
Steve Broomhead, chief executive of the NWDA, spoke to Kop
Holdings – the owners of LFC – yesterday over the funding of
the stadium.
The agency had previously agreed to provide a £9m grant for
the scheme which includes regenerating the park and a
community partnership centre.
While Mr Broomhead made clear the money is still available,
the agency will not hand it over until “detailed evidence”
that funding is in place
to complete the project.
(Liverpool Daily Post)
Parry confident of Reds stay
Chief Executive Rick Parry was in a confident mood yesterday
as he picked up his honorary degree from the University of
Liverpool.
Recent speculation has suggested that Parry could be ousted
from his post at Anfield after co-owner Tom Hicks publicly
criticised him of failing the club, but he remained defiant
that he will be working alongside manager Rafael Benitez
next season.
He told the Liverpool Daily Post: “I’m looking forward to
working with Rafael (Benitez) and helping improve on last
season’s result.
“Our standards are very high, as is the standard our fans
demand. Winning the league, that’s the prize we’re all
striving for.” he added.
(Kop-TV)
Thor Zakariassen
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