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THURSDAY 31 |
Kromkamp returns home to PSV
Jan Kromkamp has brought his short Anfield career to an end
by returning to Holland to sign for PSV Eindhoven.
The Dutch defender only made 18 first team appearances for
the Reds after arriving from Villarreal at the start of the
year in a deal which saw former defender Josemi moving in
the opposite direction.
He made his debut as a substitute in the epic 5-3 win over
Luton in January and will leave with an FA Cup winners medal
to show for his efforts after being named on the bench for
last season's final against West Ham.
(LFC Official Website)
Kewell in dark over Spurs
Harry Kewell's agent has played down reports the Australian
could be in line for a move to Tottenham.
The former Leeds United winger has been linked with a move
to the White Hart Lane outfit, who are keen to bolster their
numbers.
Spurs have already bid for Middlesbrough's England
international Stewart Downing, however, their offer falls
well short of the North East outfit's valuation.
Another name is the frame is Lyon's Hatem Ben Arfa, who is
being tipped for the top by the French champions.
However, it seems a move for Kewell is a non-starter with
Kewell's agent Bernie Mandic saying it is pure speculation.
"There has never been a single word from anyone at Liverpool
about Harry leaving," Mandic told The Independent.
(Sky Sports)
Mellor keen to be Preston success
Neil Mellor is determined to be a success at Preston North
End.
Mellor admitted he was sad to leave Liverpool but is
determined to be a success at Deepdale after signing a three
year contract with Preston.
"I think any player who leaves Liverpool is a bit
disappointed because they are one of the best teams in the
world, without a doubt," said the striker.
"I have left before to go on loan at various clubs, but it
was a big step to leave Liverpool fully and commit myself to
Preston.
"I am really excited. This is a big club that has been in
the play offs for the past two seasons and I'm hoping we can
go one better this year and get promotion.
"People might mention the injuries but it's just about
playing football now. I've come here to hopefully get the
chance to try and do that. I just want to put the past
behind me and look to the future at Preston."
(LFC Online)
Benitez back in for Neill transfer
Liverpool are ready to go back in with an improved offer to
land Lucas Neill before the transfer window closes today.
A bid believed to be in the region of £2million has already
been rejected by the Australian defender's club, Blackburn
Rovers.
But Neill is keen on a move to Anfield despite the best
efforts that Rovers will make today to persuade him to stay.
The Lancashire club have made a stuttering start to the
season, with the draw against Everton last Wednesday being
their only point in three Premiership games, and are
reluctant to lose their influential defender.
But they anticipated Liverpool's interest by signing Dutch
centre-half Andre Ooijer from PSV Eindhoven last week.
However, Blackburn manager Mark Hughes led his team to
Europe last season on the back of a solid defensive unit so
is keen to avoid Neill going the same way as Craig Bellamy
did earlier in the summer, when the lure of Anfield proved
too much to resist.
It is also understood that Rovers are not particularly
anxious to cash in on Neill - who will be a free agent at
the end of the season - before the end of the August
deadline.
(Daily Post) |
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WEDNESDAY 30 |
Mellor completes Preston move
Neil Mellor has today signed a three year deal with
Championship outfit Preston North End.
Mellor is now fit again after being plagued by injury
problems over recent months but with Craig Bellamy, Dirk
Kuyt, Peter Crouch and Robbie Fowler ahead of him in the
pecking order at Anfield, first team opportunities were
clearly going to be limited for the 23 year old this season.
Despite not playing as much football as he would have liked
during his time at Anfield, Mellor will never be forgotten
by the Liverpool fans after netting one of the three
'comeback' goals against Olympiacos and sending Arsenal
crashing to defeat with a memorable last minute strike in
the Premiership at Anfield.
(LFC Official Website)
Sinama-Pongolle in Recreativo deal
Liverpool's French striker Florent Sinama-Pongolle has
agreed to sign a one-year deal with Recreativo Huelva, the
Primera Liga side said on Wednesday.
The Under-21 international, who joined Liverpool from Le
Havre in 2003, played on loan at Blackburn Rovers for the
second half of last season.
Recreativo were promoted to the top flight for only the
third time in their history when they topped the standings
in the second division last season.
(Reuters)
Liverpool bid for Neill rejected
Blackburn have rejected a bid from Liverpool for their
Australian full-back Lucas Neill.
The Reds contacted Blackburn this week and made an offer for
the 28-year-old, who can play at either right-back or
left-back, but have had their bid knocked back.
It is understood Blackburn manager Mark Hughes is determined
to hold onto Neill, who joined Rovers from Millwall in 2001.
(Ireland On-Line)
Tottenham make Liverpool approach
Following on from the rumours yesterday,
newspaper reports today claim that Tottenham have approached
Liverpool regarding the availability of midfielder Bolo
Zenden.
(Kop Talk)
Reserves beaten
Liverpool reserves were beaten 1-0 by Manchester City last
night.
Liverpool's second string lost their first game of the
season at home to Man City although the Reds were probably
worth a point, and possibly all three.
Liverpool created plenty of chances on the night but were
unable to take any of them and eventually fell to a sucker
punch after City scored when the Reds were unable to clear a
corner.
Lee Peltier, Jack Hobbs, Craig Lindfield and Besian Idrizaj
all came close to scoring for the Reds but it was that sort
of night and all were denied by some good goalkeeping.
(LFC Online) |
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TUESDAY 29 |
Alves reveals fresh Liverpool hope
Sevilla full-back Daniel Alves says he could still leave La
Liga for Liverpool this summer, but clubcall understands the
Reds cannot afford the Brazilian.
Liverpool have been chasing the versatile right-sided star
for months, but having failed to agree a price with Sevilla,
Reds boss Rafa Benitez finally gave up and signed Jermaine
Pennant from Birmingham City instead.
Liverpool no longer have the funds to match Sevilla's
£12million asking price for Alves, but when asked about the
possibility of moving to Anfield, the player refused to rule
it out:
"Until the window has shut, I cannot say that I will be
staying. There's only a few days left. The only thing that
worries me at the moment is the Levante match and when the
window closes, we will then know what decisions have been
taken."
(Clubcall Sports)
Zenden backs Kuyt
Bolo Zenden has backed his countryman Dirk Kuyt to be a big
success at Anfield.
Kuyt quickly won the fans over with his performance against
West Ham on Saturday and his fellow subsitute Bolo Zenden
believes Kuyt will be a huge success this season.
"You've seen already he is a player with a lot of energy and
someone who can not only score goals but deliver the passes
for others. He's much more than just a goalscorer," said
Zenden.
"He's shown in one game he's a very good signing for us. I
knew as soon as there was interest from England he would be
the kind of player who would do well in this country.
"Even before the manager made his decision to sign him, I
thought Dirk was a striker suited to this style of football.
"The manager has a lot of choice up front now, which has
been his intention all along. He knows you need 21 equal
players to challenge."
(LFC Online)
Kuyt named Holland's Player of the Year
New signing Dirk Kuyt has been named Holland's Player of the
Year at a ceremony hosted in his native country by the Dutch
FA.
After a barnstorming second-half debut at home to West Ham
on Saturday, the new Liverpool No.18 flew home to join up
with the national side and attend the prestigious awards
gala where he was presented with the Golden Boot award.
The award was recognition for the former Feyenoord striker
being voted the best player in the Dutch league.
Kuyt beat off strong competition from fellow international
Philip Cocu and AZ full-back Tim de Cler and was presented
with the trophy - won in the past by former Anfield star
Jari Litmanen - by his father.
The evening's entertainment ended with the new Kop hero
performing a song on stage with Dutch musician Jan Smit.
(LFC Official Website) |
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MONDAY 28 |
Sissoko out of Mali squad
Liverpool midfielder Momo Sissoko and Real Madrid's
Mahamadou Diarra will miss Mali's Nations Cup qualifier in
Sierra Leone.
The Mali Football Federation said the pair were left out of
their 18-man squad because Sissoko has a knee injury and
Diarra is suspended.
(BBC Sport Online)
Rafa plays down Agger hype
Rafael Benitez has played down comparisons between Daniel
Agger and Alan Hansen but is confident the young Dane has a
bright future ahead of him at Anfield.
Agger's man-of-the-match performance in Saturday's 2-1
victory over West Ham earned him widespread praise in the
press, with some reporters even going as far as labelling
him 'the new Hansen' .
But, while having the utmost faith in his ability, Benitez
believes talking about Agger in the same breath as such an
esteemed Liverpool legend will place an unfair burden of
expectation on the young Dane's shoulders .
"I'm worried that people are talking about him like an Alan
Hansen or the other great defenders from the club's history
because he's a young player," says the Reds boss.
"He is a young player but he's a young player who knows what
to do. He's determined to improve and enjoys training. He's
got a lot of confidence in himself. If you watch him
training you see he's focused. He's a player with quality
and he can shoot, as we've seen, but he can also play the
ball.
"He's a player for the future, but he's a good player now.
It's not easy to find a player of his age who's happy to
play on stages like Anfield."
(LFC Official Website)
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Thor Zakariassen
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