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MONDAY 27 |
Tykes hopeful on Hammill
Simon Davey is looking to push through a deal for Liverpool
winger Adam Hammill, but he has ended his interest in four
trialists.
Hammill made a good impression on Davey during a three-month
loan spell with Barnsley last season.
He has not yet been given a squad number by Liverpool and
Davey has held talks over a possible move back to Oakwell.
"I'm still looking at a few players, discussions are
ongoing," Davey told The Star.
"I've said that Hammill would be a good addition to our
squad, but we're also on the look-out for a striker."
(Sky Sports)
Cattermole interest mounts
Arsenal and Liverpool are both keeping close tabs on Lee
Cattermole's situation, skysports.com understands.
The Wigan midfielder had an outstanding maiden campaign at
the DW Stadium following his arrival from hometown club
Middlesbrough
last season.
(Sky Sports)
Grenade scare at Dalglish residence
Police were investigating on Monday after a live hand
grenade was found on a garden wall at the home of football
legend Kenny Dalglish.
The explosive device was discovered on Sunday night as
police made searches in connection with an on-going incident
unconnected with the former Liverpool manager.
The Army's bomb disposal team were called to the address, in
Selworthy Road, Southport, Merseyside, and the area was
cordoned off for the public's safety.
A Merseyside Police spokeswoman said: "The device was
removed and made safe and is currently undergoing forensic
examination.
"The road remains cordoned off at its junction with
Sandringham Road and high-visibility patrols have been
stepped up in the area to reassure
the public.
"Detectives believe this incident is linked to a series of
other recent incidents in this area and not to the owner of
the property where the device was found."
It is not known if anybody was at the Dalglish home when the
alarm was raised at around 10.15pm.
A member of the public alerted police after seeing two men
acting suspiciously in the area.
The men, aged in their 20s, were arrested a short time later
on suspicion of witness intimidation.
(TEAMtalk)
Napoli close in on Dossena
Andrea Dossena's agent insists the full-back would welcome
the chance to leave Liverpool and return to Italy.
The 27-year-old only moved to Anfield from Udinese last
summer but failed to impress in the Premier League, starting
only 19 matches in all competitions for Rafa Benitez's side.
Napoli are leading the chase to sign Dossena, whose agent,
Federico Pastorello, told TuttoNapoli.net: "Their offer is
of five million Euros plus bonuses - the clubs are in
negotiations and we are awaiting news.
"The player is currently in Singapore with Liverpool and he
is also
awaiting news.
"Although he loves being at a great club like Liverpool, he
would welcome the opportunity to join Napoli.
"We are very keen to find an agreement. Napoli know how much
he earns, but first the two clubs have to strike a deal."
(LFC Online)
Balague: "Alonso will be
a Liverpool player next season"
Esteemed Spanish based journalist Guillem Balague, a regular
on Sky Sports’ Revista de la Liga, has revealed Xabi Alonso
is more likely to stay at Liverpool than move to Real Madrid
this summer.
The Spanish international has been strongly linked with a
move to the Bernabeu all summer, but the Premier League club
have told their La Liga counterparts, they must pay £32
million for the 27-year-old.
Balague writes on his official website: “Rafa Benitez is
desperate to have this matter resolved as soon as possible
in order to finalise the squad for next season without
having to make any late adjustments to his preparations.”
“Overall, the situation remains much as it did before: Real
Madrid must pay the €35 million that Liverpool are asking
for Alonso, but the Spanish club insist that they will not
increase their previous offer - and they must also now
reduce their squad and sell before they can buy.”
“Liverpool will not lower their asking price and Benitez is
running out of patience – he may even place a week’s
deadline on this deal as an ultimatum to Madrid.”
“However, there has been a positive change of mood in the
Liverpool camp over the last few days and for those who want
Xabi to stay, a more optimistic outlook.”
(Sport.co.uk)
Liverpool owners agree to repay £40m
of debt as part of refinancing package
Liverpool owners Tom Hicks and George Gillett will this week
repay £40 million of outstanding debt as a condition of a
refinancing package agreed with the Royal Bank of Scotland
and Wachovia over the weekend.
Telegraph Sport understands that the details of the package
have been agreed, with the American owners agreeing to repay
£60 million of the outstanding loans as part of a deal with
the banks that will ultimately reduce the debt to £230
million. The first tranche is expected to be repaid this
week, with the remaining £20 million due later in the year.
(The Daily Telegraph) |
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SUNDAY 26 |
Rafa: Nemeth is a great finisher
Rafa Benitez paid tribute to Krisztian Nemeth after the
young striker claimed a brace of goals in Liverpool's 5-0
victory over Singapore
on Sunday.
The Hungarian was introduced to the action after an hour and
wasted no time in finding the back of the net twice to help
the Reds to their first win of pre-season.
"Nemeth is a great finisher. He has scored a lot of goals in
the reserve team and today he showed why," Benitez told
Liverpoolfc.tv.
(LFC Official Website)
Nemeth bags brace in Reds stroll
Krisztian Nemeth scored twice and Xabi Alonso made his first
pre-season appearance as Liverpool beat Singapore 5-0 at the
National Stadium.
Seeking their first pre-season victory after draws with
Thailand and Swiss side St Gallen and a 1-0 loss to Rapid
Vienna, the Reds gave a disjointed appearance in the first
half but took the lead with the final kick before half-time
when Andriy Voronin's long-range effort found the net.
Albert Riera extended the advantage early in the second half
before Nemeth struck twice in the final 17 minutes with a
Fernando Torres effort wedged in between.
(TEAMtalk)
Alonso on bench versus Singapore
Xabi Alonso is set to return to action after being named on
the bench for Liverpool's clash with Singapore this
afternoon.
The Spain international joins new signing Glen Johnson
amongst the Reds' substitutes, while Javier Mascherano will
start in the centre of midfield.
Liverpool team in full: Cavalieri, Degen, Carragher, Agger,
San Jose, Babel, Mascherano, Lucas, Benayoun, Voronin, Ngog.
Substitutes: Johnson, Plessis, Torres, Riera, Pacheco,
Dossena, Gulacsi, Insua, Alonso, Kelly, Arbeloa, Kuyt,
Reina, Spearing, Nemeth.
(LFC Official Website)
Torres has Ronaldo target
Liverpool striker Fernando Torres wants to replace Cristiano
Ronaldo as the Premier League's top player.
The Spain forward, who has scored 50 goals in 84 games for
the Reds, is confident he can help end a 20-year wait for a
league title.
Torres said: "First, we have to win trophies. Only then will
people be able to speak the same way about Liverpool and me
as Ronaldo and United."
(Teletext)
Barnes praises Gerrard
John Barnes has praised Steven Gerrard.
The Liverpool legend saw Gerrard play and score against his
Tranmere side on Friday night and after the game was full of
praise for
the Reds skipper.
"He is an inspiration. What I can say to my young players is
that we know all about his quality and technical ability but
look at the attitude that he has putting in a performance
like that," said Barnes.
"It just goes to show the measure of the man. It's a
pre-season match here at Tranmere and he's not with the
first team squad in Asia but he still puts in a fantastic
performance not just in terms of his quality but his
attitude."
(LFC Online) |
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SATURDAY 25 |
Skrtel, El Zhar out
for up to a month
Liverpool defender Martin Skrtel and striker Nabil El Zhar
will be out of action for three weeks and a month
respectively after picking up injuries, the club said
Saturday.
They both limped out of Wednesday's friendly with Thailand
and flew back to England while the rest of the squad
travelled to Singapore.
Scans conducted Friday revealed that Skrtel has suffered a
hamstring strain while El Zhar sustained a medial ligament
sprain to his right knee, Liverpool said on its website.
New signing Glen Johnson, meanwhile, will not be available
for Sunday's match against the Singapore national team as he
recovers from an Achilles injury.
But the unsettled Xabi Alonso and Israeli star Yossi
Benayoun successfully came through a training session here
Friday after recovering from ankle injuries and will be
available to play.
(AFP)
Rafa: Xabi should
stay at Liverpool
Rafa Benitez today revealed he has told Xabi Alonso that he
should stay at Liverpool.
Alonso received a rapturous ovation from the Singapore fans
as he watched the Reds train on Friday night.
"I was talking to him yesterday and telling him to listen to
the fans. They love Xabi," Benitez told a press conference
in Singapore.
"I said to him, 'Maybe you have to stay.'
"You can see he is a really good player and I'll be really
pleased if he stays. All the players and his teammates want
him to stay. If we keep Xabi I will be very pleased."
(LFC Official Website)
Alonso blasts fake injury claim
Xabi Alonso has denied accusations he feigned injury to
avoid playing against Thailand.
The Liverpool midfielder missed the midweek match in
Bangkok, with some media reports suggesting he didn’t want
to risk picking up a knock which could scupper a possible
move to Real Madrid.
However, despite the ongoing uncertainty over his future,
Alonso insists he is still fully committed to the Reds’
pre-season build-up and has declared himself fit for today’s
clash with Singapore.
“I would never fake an injury not to play,” he said
yesterday. “I hurt my ankle in training but it is much
better now. I trained on Thursday evening and again today."
(Daily Post)
Thor Zakariassen
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