|
|
|
THURSDAY 24 |
Leto set for Greek move
Liverpool winger Sebastian Leto has confirmed he is close to
agreeing
a loan move to Olympiakos.
Reds boss Rafa Benitez has informed Leto he is willing to
loan him out as he is well down the pecking order at
Anfield.
Leto's stay at Liverpool has been placed in doubt because of
a passport fiasco.
The Argentine currently holds an Italian passport to enable
him to win
a work permit, but Italian authorities are thought to be
carrying out
an investigation on the validity of a number of citizenship
decisions.
The 21-year-old has revealed he has spoken to Olympiakos
manager Ernesto Valverde and he admits he would be
interested in a move
to Greece.
"I spoke with the people of the club [Liverpool] and our
decision is to leave the club and to play somewhere else on
loan for one season," Leto told Greek daily SportDay. "I
have to play football next season.
"My agents are in Athens. They speak with Olympiakos for my
loan."
(Sky Sports)
Liverpool land Ngog
Liverpool have announced the signing of teenage striker
David Ngog from Paris Saint Germain.
The 19-year-old Frenchman has penned a four-year deal at
Anfield and arrives for an undisclosed fee.
Ngog, who is a cousin of former Newcastle United defender
Jean-Alain Boumsong, impressed at Parc Des Princes last
term, despite the Ligue 1 club's poor form.
The youngster becomes manager Rafa Benitez's fourth signing
of the summer following the captures of Andrea Dossena,
Diego Cavalieri and Philipp Degen.
(Sky Sports)
Pacheco: I'd love
to partner Torres
Dani Pacheco is hoping his eye-catching form during
pre-season has impressed Rafa Benitez enough to make his
dream of playing alongside Fernando Torres come true.
The 17-year-old forward has featured in every one of
Liverpool’s friendly matches so far and his displays in the
first team have only served to underline the potential he
has.
Now Pacheco, who was brought to Anfield from Barcelona last
summer, wants to be given his chance to feature with fellow
Spaniard Torres – who will return to training tomorrow
following his Euro 2008 exploits – and club captain and
talisman Steven Gerrard when he comes back from injury next
week.
"I would love to play with Torres because he is such a great
striker and it would be very special for me to be in the
team with him," said Pacheco.
(Liverpool Daily Post)
Barry could play in Intertoto Cup
Aston Villa boss Martin O'Neill is considering playing
want-away skipper Gareth Barry in Saturday's Intertoto Cup
clash with Odense BK.
And O'Neill admitted he would be happy for the long-running
saga involving Barry and a possible move to Liverpool to be
resolved "one way
or another".
Barry, valued at £18million by O'Neill, was booed by the
Villa fans present at Tuesday's friendly clash at Walsall.
But that will not stop O'Neill considering him on Saturday
if he feels
the 27-year-old is in the right frame of mind for the game
at Villa Park.
O'Neill said: "I think that in terms of fitness the game on
Tuesday will have brought Gareth on so, if he's mentally
tuned in and he wants to go and play, why not?
"Why shouldn't he be in contention for the game? He's a
quality player and that's what we're looking for."
"My preference - and hopefully I'm speaking for a lot of
Villa fans, if not all of them - is that we would like
Gareth to stay at the football club.
"That would be great because it will be hard to replace him.
"But we're not sure where Liverpool stand now. It was never
mentioned before about them needing to sell some players
before they bought - that was never in the system at all.
But seemingly it must be part of it.
"The point is that this has been long running and we're
looking to see it end one way or another."
(TEAMtalk) |
|
WEDNESDAY 23 |
Liverpool's Ajdarevic in Holland for trials
Liverpool midfielder Astrit Ajdarevic is in Holland this
week for trials.
The young Swede has been made available by Liverpool and
already has spent time at Go Ahead Eagles and NEC Nijmegen.
Leeds United boss Gary McAllister is also keen.
(tribalfooball.com)
Fowler will be given every chance by Ince
Having taken his former Liverpool and England team-mate
Robbie Fowler on trial at Blackburn Rovers, manager Paul
Ince believes the legendary striker can still produce the
goods at the top level.
Ince will be giving Fowler every chance to prove that as the
Anfield idol - who rejected a two-year contract on offer
from Cardiff City - ties to win
a deal with Rovers.
Although Ince is offering Fowler no guarantees, he is
confident the 33-year-old marksman will justify his faith.
Fowler was given playing time for Rovers against TSG
Hoffenheim, after which Ince told the Lancashire Evening
Telegraph: “People have said he’s past it, but when you see
the runs he makes, he beats his opponent by five or six
yards, and if we can find him with our passes then he’s
going
to score goals.
“That was his first game in eight months so you’ve got to
take that into account, and he will get sharper.
“He’ll never lose those runs and that movement, and in the
next couple of weeks he’ll get sharper and sharper, which is
when we’ll start to see the best of Robbie Fowler.”
(Goal.com)
Reds bring in defender
Liverpool have signed Emmanuel Mendy on a three-year deal
from
Murcia Deportivo.
The 18-year-old is regarded as a bright prospect for the
future after making his name with the Spanish Third Division
side.
He is expected to compete for a place in the reserves
initially but will hope to break into Rafa Benitez's side in
time.
Mendy is a versatile defender who primarily plays at
right-back but also has the ability to line up on the
opposite flank.
He has also been described as a powerful player despite
being small in stature.
(Sky Sports)
Benitez lines up
French striker N’Gog
On a night when he gave a 17-year-old striker the chance to
lead the line for Liverpool, manager Rafael Benitez revealed
that he is close to sealing a deal for teenage French
forward David N’Gog.
The club return to Melwood today following a three-match
tour of Switzerland and Germany which concluded last night
with a 0-0 draw at Bundesliga club Hertha Berlin.
Although Liverpool extended their unbeaten run in pre-season
friendlies
to four games with the stalemate, a third victory could have
been recorded had Andriy Voronin not seen his 50th-minute
penalty saved by the hosts’ substitute goalkeeper Christian
Fiedler after the Ukrainian had been fouled by defender
Kaka.
Benitez, who gave Spanish starlet Danny Pacheco his
compatriot Fernando Torres’s number nine jersey, did not
reveal the identity of his latest imminent capture but it is
Paris St Germain’s N’Gog.
(Liverpool Daily Post) |
|
TUESDAY 22 |
Voronin misses pen
as Reds are held
Andriy Voronin had a second-half penalty saved but Liverpool
maintained their unbeaten record so far in pre-season with a
draw against
Hertha Berlin.
In front of 51,641 fans in Berlin's Olympic Stadium,
Liverpool's starting line-up included just three players who
could consider themselves first choice come the start of the
season.
But they showed enough effort, fitness and strength -
particularly at
the back - to encourage boss Rafael Benitez.
But this was very much the final dress rehearsal as far as
Benitez
was concerned.
The Anfield chief has been denied his big-hitters so far
this pre-season and that has given the support cast their
chance to shine.
(TEAMtalk)
Pacheco and Voronin face Hertha
Daniel Pacheco will lead the line alongside Andriy
Voronin as the Reds look to notch up their third win of the
pre-season against Hertha Berlin
in Germany.
Jamie Carragher will once again skipper the side in the
absence of the injured Steven Gerrard while there are also
places in the starting XI for Jermaine Pennant, Sebastian
Leto and Javier Mascherano.
New signing Andrea Dossena returns to the bench after making
his debut against Wisla Krakow, with Dirk Kuyt, Yossi
Benayoun and Martin Skrtel also amongst the substitutes.
The Liverpool team in full: Cavalieri, Darby, Insua, Agger,
Carragher, Plessis, Mascherano, Pennant, Leto, Pacheco,
Voronin.
Subs: Martin, Dossena, Hyypia, Skrtel, Degen, Benayoun,
Kuyt, Spearing, Hobbs.
(LFC Official Website)
Masch reveals double dream
Liverpool midfielder Javier Mascherano has set his sights on
winning
the Olympic Games and the Premier League after confirming he
will
travel to Beijing.
The 24-year-old has accepted his call-up as an over-age
player to Argentina's Under 23 squad for August's Games and
will fly to China after the Reds' pre-season friendly with
Hertha Berlin on Tuesday.
Mascherano will, therefore, miss Liverpool's opening Premier
League fixtures with Sunderland and Middlesbrough, but he is
hopeful his team-mates will have made a bright start when he
returns.
Having won the Olympics in 2004, Mascherano is eager to
secure another gold medal and the Premier League trophy this
season.
"I will go to the Olympics," Mascherano told the Liverpool
Echo.
"I will leave the team for one month.
"Hopefully I will go to Beijing and win the gold medal for
my country and come back and win the title with Liverpool.
"It was important for me to do the pre-season with the team
so I can get
to know my new team-mates before I go to the Olympics.
"We are all working hard and hopefully the work we are doing
now will help us to have a good season and we will try to
win some trophies.
"It isn't easy because we are doing two training sessions a
day and we are working very hard.
"But as the days go by we are having more and more contact
with the ball and when the new season arrives I think we
will be ready for
the Premier League."
(Sky Sports)
Reina rules out Spain return
Liverpool goalkeeper Jose ‘Pepe’ Reina has dismissed the
possibility of returning to his native country, insisting he
is completely satisfied on Merseyside.
Reina arrived at Anfield in 2005 and has since established
himself among Europe’s elite ‘keepers, snaring three
consecutive Golden Glove awards for most clean sheets in a
Premier League season.
However, the 25-year-old has had to settle for a spot on the
bench when it comes to international duty, as Real Madrid’s
Iker Casillas – who was outstanding in Spain’s EURO 2008
triumph – effectively owns
la Furia Roja’s No. 1 jersey.
Some have speculated that the former Barcelona shot-stopper
could return to La Liga in the hope of increasing his
chances of supplanting Casillas, as it is a widely held
belief that la Seleccion’s coaches prefer
home-based players.
But Reina – one of four Spanish scousers in Austria and
Switzerland last month – insisted he will not be leaving
Liverpool any time soon, and is focused solely on helping
the Reds claim silverware this season.
"I won't consider returning to Spain," said Reina. "I like
Liverpool and it doesn't even enter my head to return
already to Spanish football - and that goes for my family as
well.
"I want to celebrate winning a big trophy with Liverpool
this season and if we do I promise my team-mates I will cook
them some excellent seafood in return!"
(Goal.com)
Reds to land striker
Liverpool are reported to be close to finalising the signing
of Paris Saint Germain striker David Ngog.
Reports in France suggest Liverpool have agreed a fee in the
region of £1.5million with PSG for the 19-year-old.
(Sky Sports)
Thor Zakariassen
© |
|
|
|
