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WEDNESDAY 21 |
Juventus must pay
£16m for Alonso
Liverpool placed a £16million price tag on Xabi Alonso
yesterday after receiving an approach from Juventus for the
Spain midfielder. Juventus director Jean-Claude Blanc
travelled to Merseyside on Tuesday and met manager Rafa
Benitez and chief executive Rick Parry to discuss
Alonso's availability.
Though talks ended without a bid being lodged, Liverpool
indicated a deal could be struck but made it clear they
believe Alonso's value has risen since they paid Real
Sociedad £10.5m for him four years ago.
Juventus are considering other candidates to bolster their
midfield but are expected to return with an offer that could
signal the end of the popular 26-year old's Anfield reign
and clear the way for a renewed attempt to prise Gareth
Barry from Aston Villa.
(Daily Mail)
Rafa: We're close to the title
Rafa Benitez is confident Liverpool are closer to The
Premier League title than people think.
The Reds ended the season 11 points behind champions
Manchester United, and were out of the title race way before
it reached its climax.
In football everybody is an expert, and the majority have
suggested Liverpool need at least three world class
additions to bridge the gap.
Benitez believes differently. He points to the 1-0 home loss
to United, and four draws against Arsenal and Chelsea as the
major moments where the title was lost.
"Clearly, just one team can win the league, so it doesn't
really matter if you are three, six, nine or 11 points
behind as we are this season," Benitez told Liverpool’s
official website.
"At the end of the day it is not a massive difference. It
may just come down to one game over the course of a season.
"If you beat Manchester United once it results in a
six-point swing either way and that can be the difference.
"The key for me is knowing there is a difference between us
and the three teams above us and that we must now reduce
this gap.
"It wasn't massive this year. We came closer than last year.
Hopefully next year we will be closer again, maybe even on
top of them."
(Setanta Sports)
Juve step up Alonso bid
Juventus are believed to have stepped up their interest in
Liverpool midfielder Xabi Alonso by flying to England to
hold talks over the transfer.
Reports emanating from Italy claim Juventus director general
Jean-Claude Blanc has flown to Liverpool to discuss a deal
for Alonso.
(Sky Sports)
Dossena deal for Reds?
Udinese defender Andrea Dossena is close to agreeing a move
to Liverpool, according to reports in Italy.
Reds manager Rafa Benitez is on the look-out for a left-back
to bolster his squad as it is expected John Arne Riise is
set to leave Anfield
this summer.
Tottenham are also chasing £9million-rated Dossena's
signature and it is understood they had a bid rejected in
the January transfer window.
However, it is rumoured that Udinese sporting director
Pietro Leonardi recently flew to England to discuss a
possible transfer with Liverpool.
(Sporting Life)
Lucas promises more
Lucas Levia says Liverpool fans have yet to see the best of
him.
The 21 year old Brazilian international had a good debut
season at Liverpool, making 31 first team appearances.
However, the midfielder says he will be an even better
player next season.
"I really enjoyed my first season with Liverpool," said
Lucas.
"To play 31 games for a club like this in your first season
is something I am proud of because it is not easy to adapt
to football in a new country.
"I did not play any games in the first three months because
I was still adapting to the style but now I feel much more
comfortable on the pitch and, hopefully, next season will be
better.
"English football is completely different so I needed to
learn quickly. I spoke a lot with Steven Gerrard, Xabi
Alonso and Javier Mascherano because they know what it takes
to play in my position in England and they helped me a lot.
"I tried to do the right things and to learn from them
because when you have players like them around you it makes
you feel more confident.
"I think I got better as the season went on because at first
I did not go forward as much as I would have liked. I was
adapting and I wasn't that confident on the pitch. But as
the season went on I improved and hopefully next season will
be better."
(LFC Online)
Veteran chasing by Cottagers
Fulham are understood to be eyeing a deal for former
defender Steve Finnan following Liverpool's capture of
Philipp Degen.
It's understood the Reds would consider selling Finnan for
around £2million, with Fulham boss Roy Hodgson keen to
strengthen his backline with some experience in order to
avoid another relegation battle
next season.
(Clubcall Sports)
Benitez lines up French goalkeeper
Liverpool are lining up a move for Bordeaux goalkeeper
Ulrich Rame after Philipp Degen was confirmed as Rafael
Benitez's first summer signing.
The Anfield manager has earmarked Rame as he prepares to
reshuffle his options behind first-choice keeper Pepe Reina.
The 35-year-old Rame, a former France international with 12
caps, has been a regular for the past 11 years with Bordeaux
and this season helped them to second place behind French
champions Lyon to earn Champions League qualification.
Rame still has a year remaining on his contract, but
Liverpool are prepared to offer a swap deal with Charles
Itandje going the other way plus a small cash adjustment.
(Liverpool Daily Post) |
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TUESDAY 20 |
Hamsik rejects Reds rumours
Napoli midfielder Marek Hamsik has rubbished reports linking
him with
a move to Liverpool.
The 20-year-old Slovakian international is believed to have
caught the eye of Liverpool boss Rafa Benitez and it was
rumoured that he was set to fly to England to sign a
contract on Sunday.
However, Hamsik - who has also attracted interest from UEFA
Champions League finalists Manchester United and Chelsea -
insists the speculation is unfounded and that he is happy in
Italy.
When asked about the Liverpool reports Hamsik told Pravda:
"Really? That is absolute nonsense. I don't know anything
about travelling to Liverpool on Sunday.
"It is still valid that I would prefer to stay at Napoli. At
the moment I am
not thinking about any other possibility."
(Sky Sports)
Sammy: Reds on the right tracks
New Liverpool assistant boss Sammy Lee insists the Reds are
already "close" to a title-challenging team as they look to
next season.
Lee, who rejoined the club's coaching staff on Friday,
insists Liverpool are not far away from being genuine
contenders.
He said: "This club has made great strides over recent
years. People ask when are we going to win the league, and
there is no doubt about it, that is the one the fans want.
"Liverpool will always aim to be number one, you do not aim
for anything else at this football club.
"I do not think we are very far away from a
title-challenging side. People may say differently, but I do
not think so."
(TEAMtalk)
Degen heads for Anfield
Philipp Degen will become a Liverpool player when he signs a
contract with the club on July 1.
The Swiss international right-back has been a long-term
target of Reds boss Rafa Benitez, who is delighted to have
got his man on a Bosman free transfer.
Degen is rated as one of the best players to emerge from
Switzerland in recent years, although his progress stalled
following a move to Borussia Dortmund from Basel in 2005.
Benitez, who was aware of Degen’s promise when he was
manager of Valencia, is delighted to have snared the
defender and believes he can make a positive difference to
the Liverpool squad.
“Philipp is still young but has gained great experience from
playing in the Bundesliga with Borussia Dortmund and on the
international stage with Switzerland,” he said.
“He also played in the Champions League during his time with
Basel and so is used to top level football."
(Liverpool Echo)
Kewell: Rafa was wrong
Liverpool winger Harry Kewell admits he is determined to
prove Rafa Benitez wrong after the Australian claimed he had
been unfairly treated by the Spaniard.
Kewell, 29, is to be released by The Reds when his contract
expires this summer to bring to an end a largely unhappy
five-year spell at Anfield.
Kewell is on the lookout for a new club, though the
Australian rejected speculation that Portsmouth have already
agreed a deal.
"The one person I would like to show is probably my old
manager,"
said Kewell.
"I didn't get a chance to show him a lot of what I could do.
"It would be great just to show him what I was capable of
doing."
Kewell denied erroneous speculation that he is Pompey bound.
"Apparently my agent did it [a deal with Portsmouth] on the
plane when
he was coming over [to Australia], so I don't know how he
did that,"
Kewell told reporters.
"There is always speculation.
"I have never shied away from going abroad, playing in the
Premiership
or playing anywhere."
"My options are open. We'll see what happens."
(Setanta Sports) |
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MONDAY 19 |
LFC rumour mill:
Riera, Kranjcar, Bentley and
Ramsey hunted, Crouch expected out
Liverpool boss Rafael Benitez is planning an £8million swoop
for Albert Riera, according to weekend reports.
Liverpool are launching a bid for Portsmouth midfielder Niko
Kranjcar, according to web rumours.
The battle for David Bentley continues for Liverpool, if you
believe some of the more extreme gossips online.
Today it has been reported that Manchester United manager
Sir Alex Ferguson is ready to to offer £10million for
Cardiff’s midfield prodigy Aaron Ramsey to beat off a late
move by Liverpool.
(Liverpool Daily Post)
Arbeloa relishing Spain experience
Liverpool defender Alvaro Arbeloa cannot wait to represent
Spain at next month's Euro 2008 and believes his country can
go all the way.
The 25-year-old right-back was a surprise inclusion in Luis
Aragones'
23-man squad, having played just 15 minutes of international
football for
the senior team.
After meeting up with the squad on Monday, Arbeloa is
relishing the experience and believes his team must think of
themselves as
potential champions.
"I'm very happy to be here, I'm really excited and I'm
determined to do well," he told Spanish Eurosport. "I want
to fully enjoy this experience and go far in the tournament.
"It's important to think that we have to win, although we
haven't won much in Spain.
"That's the right mentality. We know that we have to go bit
by bit but
the objective is to win Euro 2008."
Should Arbeloa make an appearance at the finals, it will be
only his second cap after he made his debut in the 1-0
friendly win over Italy in March as a 75th-minute
substitute.
(TEAMtalk)
Villa closer to signing Scott Carson
Scott Carson has edged a step closer to leaving Liverpool
after Rafa Benitez agreed to drop his £10million asking
price to around £6m - with Villa set to land him full-time.
Villa boss Martin O'Neill has already spent £1.75m on Carson
as part of the loan arrangement that took him to Villa Park
for the season.
(Daily Mirror)
Thor Zakariassen
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