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MONDAY 9 |
Crowther seals Reds transfer
Stockport youngster Ryan Crowther has completed his move to
Premiership giants Liverpool for an undisclosed fee.
The 18-year-old winger passed a medical on Monday with the
clubs having agreed an undisclosed fee last week.
The Reds have also recently signed 14-year-old goalkeeper
Ben Robinson from the Hatters.
(TEAMtalk)
Agent: Reds lodge Babel bid
Ryan Babel's agent Winne Haatrecht has claimed Liverpool
have lodged a bid for the Ajax winger.
Babel impressed as the Dutch Under-21 side won the recent
European Championships and has been heavily linked with a
move to Arsenal.
However, it now appears Liverpool have joined the race to
sign the 20-year-old.
Haatrecht told Sportweek magazine: "I can say nothing about
transfer fees, but I can confirm that Liverpool have made a
bid for Ryan. Ryan himself hasn't spoken with that club.
Only when Ajax says that the clubs have an agreement can we
speak, and phase two starts.
"But it's not that far yet. We first have to wait to see if
the clubs reach a deal or not."
(TEAMtalk)
Rafa remains on trail of Simao
Benfica's Simao Sabrosa remains Rafael Benitez's first
choice despite rumoured interest in £14million-rated Porto
ace Ricardo Quaresma.
The Anfield boss is believed to prefer Simao over his
international colleague Quaresma, but has been forced to
play a waiting game by the player's Lisbon club.
Benitez is desperate to add a top class wide man to his
squad but has grown so frustrated with Benfica's stance that
he has made it known to them he is actively persuing the
Porto man.
(Clubcall Sports)
Jamie explains England decision
England and Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher has explained
why he believes the time is right for him to quit
international football.
The defender has grown so tired of his bit-part role as a
utility player that he has told Steve McClaren he no longer
wants to be considered for England duty.
Carragher has agreed to delay his final decision after
discussing the situation with McClaren, but insists he wants
to focus on his club career after failing to nail down a
regular place in the England team.
"There are a number of reasons why I've been thinking about
this," said Carragher in the Liverpool Echo.
"I first thought about it after the World Cup because I
wondered how many chances I'd get for England at centre
half.
"Then when Sol Campbell was out of the picture I thought I
could put pressure on Rio Ferdinand for the other centre
half position alongside
John Terry.
"Given my form for Liverpool, I genuinely thought that was
possible, but over the last 12 months players like Jonathan
Woodgate and Ledley King have played there ahead of me.
He added: "If it's an absolute emergency - and by that I
mean if all available centre halves are out injured or there
are suspensions - I probably won't say no if I'm asked.
"I'm not doing this to leave England in the lurch.
"The reason I'm delaying a final decision is because I
didn't want people to think I have a bad attitude or I'm
turning my back on the country at
a bad time."
(TEAMtalk)
Levante look to loan Paletta
Liverpool defender Gabriel Paletta could be set for a
loan move to Spain with Levante.
Reports emanating from Spain suggest Levante have expressed
an interest in taking the Argentine ace on loan for the
whole of next season.
Benitez is believed to have given the loan move to Levante
the green light as he is keen for the South American to gain
some valuable first-team experience.
(Sky Sports)
Anfield will be biggest in Premiership, say owners
Liverpool fc’s American owners have reaffirmed their plans
to make the club’s new stadium the biggest Premiership
ground in the country.
Tom Hicks and George Gillett revealed they will submit a
revised plan to Liverpool City Council on July 25. It is the
first time supporters have been given a concrete time-scale.
The proposals will detail designs for a spectacular 60,000
capacity stadium that could eventually be expanded to host
almost 80,000.
This would make Liverpool’s new ground bigger than
Manchester United’s stadium at Old Trafford, which is
currently British football’s largest.
“The city council’s planners will receive the final plans on
July 25,”
said Hicks.
(Liverpool Daily Post)
Swans sign Anderson
Swansea City have completed the signing of Paul Anderson on
a season-long loan from Liverpool.The highly-rated winger
agreed the move yesterday and is now expected to join the
rest of Roberto Martinez's squad on a pre-season training
trip to Sweden.
Anderson, who turns 19 later this month, is another piece in
the Martinez jigsaw.
He provides the genuine pace the Swansea boss has been
looking for, and heads to Wales with a fine reputation.
The Reds paid an initial £200,000 for Anderson when he
signed from Hull last year and he could eventually cost them
as much as £1.5million depending on appearances.
"We have an agreement with Swansea and it's a good move for
Paul," said Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez.
"I've talked about the number of players we have here and
it's difficult for them all to play.
"By going to Swansea Paul will get good experience."
(Swans City FC)
Rafa hopes to pick up a hot Babel
Liverpool hope to beat Arsenal and Newcastle to the
signature of Ryan Babel after reportedly making a
£6.75million bid for the Ajax winger.
Rafael Benitez secured his first major signing of the summer
with the £26.5million capture of Fernando Torres from
Atletico Madrid last week and has now turned his attention
to landing a new winger.
And according to The Independent, Benitez made an offer of
around 10million euros for Babel on Sunday after the
Dutchman impressed at the European Under-21 Championship
last month.
(TEAMtalk)
Xabi glad of Torres signing
Xabi Alonso is looking forward to linking up with Fernando
Torres at Anfield.
Torres signed for Liverpool for £20m last week and Reds
midfielder Xabi Alonso is keen to play alongside his
international team mate at club level.
"It is great news that Fernando Torres has now become one of
my teammates at Liverpool," said the Basque.
"There were so many rumours that he was going to come into
the Premier League and I was constantly checking the news to
see if we had signed him.
"He has shown over the last few years at Atletico Madrid how
much quality he has got as a player. It will be a major
challenge for him in England but I am convinced he will be a
big success over here.
"We will help him to settle in from day one and help him
adapt to the club, the city and living in England.
"With Fernando, Peter Crouch and Dirk Kuyt we are going to
have one of the best attacks in Europe. It will be our task
to help set them up for as many goals as possible.
"Fernando is one of the best forwards in Europe and it will
be great for us to have him in the team. I believe that he
is going to be a big reinforcement for Liverpool."
(LFC Online)
Liverpool net Sky dates
Liverpool face a mouth-watering Sky Sports televised
clash with Chelsea on Sunday 19th August.
Click here for full details of Sky Sports' Barclays Premier
League coverage
Jose Mourinho's men travel to Anfield for a 4pm kick-off
during a month full of great televised Premier League games.
The Sky Sports cameras will be at the Stadium of Light to
capture live coverage of the Reds' clash with newly-promoted
Sunderland on Saturday 25th August, kick-off 12.45pm.
Liverpool's visit to Portsmouth will also be covered live by
Sky Sports on Saturday 15th September while the Merseyside
derby is televised on 20th October followed eight days later
by Arsenal's visit to Anfield.
(Sky Sports)
Argentina romp into semis
Argentina continued the high-scoring trend in the Copa
America quarter-finals as a second-half salvo saw Alfio
Basile's side thrash Peru 4-0 with Liverpool's Javier
Mascherano among the scorers.
A Juan Roman Riquelme double plus goals from Lionel Messi
and Mascherano saw Argentina book a semi-final date with
Mexico in Puerto Ordaz on Wednesday after they thrashed
Paraguay 6-0 earlier in the day.
(Sporting Life) |
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SUNDAY 8 |
Torres thanks Fabregas
Fernando Torres says his Spanish international team-mate
Cesc Fabregas convinced him to move to the Premier League.
Torres, who joined Liverpool from Atletico Madrid for
£20million, spoke to the Arsenal midfielder at length before
committing himself to Anfield.
"Cesc has triumphed at Arsenal and, after speaking to him
several times, I thought to myself: 'Why can't I repeat my
experience?' Torres told the News of the World.
"He (Fabregas) told me the key is not to get desperate if
things go against me.
"I understand the first few months at Anfield will not be
easy but I'm determined to overcome every obstacle."
Liverpool boss Rafa Benitez revealed Torres chose Liverpool
in spite of bigger offers being made for the Spanish
striker.
But Torres has confirmed money was not the deciding factor
in his move to Anfield.
"My choice was not down to money. This is a personal
challenge. I have signed for six seasons and my desire is to
play here for the six."
(Sky Sports)
Parry questions top-flight loans
Liverpool chief executive Rick Parry has questioned the need
for loan deals in the Barclays Premier League.
Parry, who held a similar post at the Premier League before
moving to Anfield, believes the loan system could be abused
and thinks clubs are wealthy enough to make the practice
unnecessary.
He said: "When I was at the Premier League we always took
the view that, given the money in the Premier League, you
didn't need loans - you should be able to stand on your own
two feet.
"There is enough money around to make transfer deals
permanent.
"That stood over 10 years. It's only in the last two or
three years that we have had the loan system in the Premier
League."
But Parry conceded that most of Liverpool's top-flight
rivals did not share his views.
"It worked fine without it. There is a sense that it can be
open to abuse . But clearly it was the will of the clubs to
allow the relaxation of it and clearly the majority are in
favour," he added.
(Sporting Life)
Report: Carragher to quit England
Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher could be set to announce
his international retirement, according to the Mail on
Sunday.
The 29-year-old has started just three times since Steve
McClaren took charge of the England team, and his absence
from the Euro 2008 qualifier against Estonia last month is
reported to have brought things to a head.
(Sporting Life)
Gonzalez hopes dashed as Chile crash out
Mark Gonzalez's Copa America dreams are over as Chile were
crushed
6-1 by Brazil in their quarter-final clash.
The Liverpool winger had his moments in the game but Brazil
were too strong and had too much class for Chile.
Real Madrid striker Robinho scored twice and is now the
competition's leading goalscorer.
(LFC Official Website)
Viduka excited by Kewell link-up
Mark Viduka admits his understanding with Harry Kewell could
help him find the goals to fire Australia to success in
their AFC Asian Cup debut.
The 31-year-old striker is hoping that he can finally
realise his killer goalscoring touch at club level on the
international stage, where he has managed just eight strikes
in 39 appearances.
Apart from with the Socceroos, Kewell and Viduka have
previously been team-mates at Leeds where they built up a
good understanding on the pitch as they helped the club to
the semi-finals of the Champions League.
And the Newcastle striker is relishing the opportunity to
team up with Kewell once again.
"When I play by myself it is sometimes difficult to get into
positions," he said. "But when Harry comes on we have a good
understanding, probably because of the Leeds days, and a lot
of the times we combine very well without any effort really
- it just comes automatically.
"I have played with Harry for a long time at Leeds and it
makes it a lot easier because he knows where I run and I
know what he is going to do so it is a lot easier."
(TEAMtalk) |
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SATURDAY 7 |
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West Ham: Bellamy deal not done
West Ham have confirmed that Liverpool striker Craig Bellamy
has agreed terms on a £7.5million move to Upton Park but
denied reports that the deal has been finalised.
Reds boss Rafael Benitez had claimed that a deal for the
Wales captain's transfer had been agreed following his
side's 3-2 friendly victory over Wrexham on Saturday.
But the Hammers have issued a statement saying the move
cannot go through until the a 27-year-old sorts out a
"private contractual issue" with the Anfield club.
The statement, on the club's official website,
www.whufc.com:, said: "Following comments attributed to
Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez today, West Ham United
would like to make it clear that Craig Bellamy has not yet
completed a move to Upton Park.
"The deal has been delayed due to a private contractual
issue between Craig Bellamy and Liverpool, which must be
resolved before any transfer can be completed.
"The player is due to meet with Liverpool on Monday morning,
and we expect to complete the transfer soon after."
(PA Sport)
Bellamy and Cisse deals are completed
Rafael Benitez has confirmed tonight that deals taking Craig
Bellamy to West Ham and Djibril Cisse to Marseille have been
completed.
And the Anfield manager, who had just witnessed a youthful
Liverpool side win a pre-season friendly at Wrexham 3-2,
insisted that any move to bring Yossi Benayoun to the club
would be a separate deal.
It is believed that West Ham have paid £8m for Bellamy, who
has agreed a four-year deal on £75,000 a week, but any
chance that Benayoun would be part of that deal have been
ended by Benitez.
Benitez, who has also allowed reserve winger Paul Anderson
to join Swansea on a season-long loan, said: “The deals for
Bellamy and Cisse are completed.
“And any move for Benayoun to join us from West Ham will not
be linked with the Bellamy sale. We have made an offer which
has been rejected.
“He is a player I like and would want to sign, and I believe
he wants to join us, but that deal will be separate now. We
will have to wait and see what happens now next week.”
(PA Sport)
Rafa's challenge to hat-trick hero Bes
Rafael Benitez has challenged Besian Idrizaj to build on his
hat-trick against Wrexham and fight for a place in his first
team squad this season.
The Austrian under-21 international was the star of the show
at the Racecourse Ground, netting three goals inside the
first 26 minutes to set the Reds on their way to a 3-2
victory.
"Of course we are pleased with Besian. We know he is a
talent and that he has ability but he needs to mature now as
a striker. Can he fight for a first team place this season?
It depends on him and how he improves over the year. We have
a lot of competition for places in attack but you
never know."
(LFC Official Website)
Wrexham sunk by Liverpool
Liverpool's first friendly of the summer ended in victory
after they completed a 3-2 win over Wrexham in their annual
meeting.
Austrian teenager Besian Idrizaj scored an impressive
19-minute hat-trick as Rafael Benitez's squad of promising
youngsters opened Liverpool's pre-season in some style at
Wrexham.
(Sporting Life)
Hurst excited by target Bellamy
Sir Geoff Hurst believes West Ham's latest transfer target,
Craig Bellamy, has the necessary talent to follow in his
footsteps at Upton Park.
But Hurst admits the Liverpool striker, who Hammers boss
Alan Curbishley is thought to be willing to pay £9million
for, does have a point to prove with regard to his attitude.
The 27-year-old has been involved in a number of bust-ups
during his career, with high-profile spats during his time
with Newcastle and Liverpool.
But Hurst hopes the Wales captain can learn from those
mistakes.
"In any sport, you need people who are characters but there
has been suspicion about Craig's character," he told Sky
Sports News.
"Undoubtedly he's a good player but when you pay a lot of
money for someone you want them to be successful and we're
going places now with the manager.
"You want to be sure you get the right man on and off the
field. He's still young, he's still learning and if he has
learned form his mistakes, undoubtedly he's a terrific
talent.
"From a talent point of view, he would do our club the world
of good."
(TEAMtalk)
Cisse was set on Marseille move
Djibril Cisse has revealed he always had his heart set on a
switch to Marseille.
Marseille have "agreed in principle" a deal to sign Cisse
from Liverpool despite a late move by West Ham
"I am very happy, really delighted," Cisse told Marseille's
official website.
"It has been a long time coming. We fought tooth and nail
for this - and we have got what we wanted.
"I decided on Marseille even before the end of the
championship. I had already made my decision.
"It went very well last season. Marseille is like my home. I
am happy here."
(Sky Sports)
Diouf delight at Cisse transfer
Marseille president Pape Diouf expressed his delight after
his club "reached an agreement in principle" to sign Djibril
Cisse from Liverpool.
The France striker, 25, is set to pen a reported four-year
contract at the Provence club this weekend after spending
last season on loan at the Stade Velodrome.
Despite interest from West Ham, he is now on the verge of
completing a switch to his hometown club, and Diouf
confirmed: "Djibril will be a Marseille player.
"It was symbolic for us in our recruitment to keep Djibril
in our ranks.
"It has not been without pain that we have reached this
point, so we are very satisfied to bring an end to this
affair.
"The negotiations have been long, sometimes hard and
gruelling, but we have had to keep on going. And Liverpool
have done the same."
No fee has been announced for the transfer as yet but if
Cisse does go on to complete his switch, he will be joined
at Marseille by former Anfield colleague Boudewijn Zenden,
who signed a two-year deal with the French giants on Friday.
"Happiness comes in twos," Diouf added on club website.
"With the arrival of Zenden, we can say that we have sealed
a double coup."
The Dutchman joined on a free transfer, having been released
by Liverpool.
(TEAMtalk)
Dudek eyes City move
Jerzy Dudek has issued a come-and-get-me plea to new
Manchester City boss Sven Goran Eriksson.
Polish international Dudek is available on a free transfer
after leaving Liverpool at the end of last season.
Real Madrid and Bolton have both been credited with an
interest in the former Feyenoord shot-stopper.
City are in the market for a new goalkeeper after Nicky
Weaver left Eastlands for Charlton and Dudek would be
interested in joining Eriksson's revolution at City.
"If I got an offer from City, then I would seriously
consider it. It's a great club," Dudek told The Sun.
(Sky Sports)
Swans sign Liverpool ace
Swansea City are about to agree a season long loan for
Liverpool midfielder Paul Anderson.
The 18-year old initially cost Liverpool £200,000 when they
purchase the star from Hull last year. The final fee could
eventually cost them 1.5million.
Martinez is confident that the deal will be done before
Monday so that Anderson can join the squad for their
pre-season training camp in Sweden on Monday.
Roberto Martinez said:
"We have said all along that we needed a bit of pace out
wide and hopefully Paul Anderson is going to provide us with
that."
"Hopefully everything will be done over the next 24 hours
with him and he will come to Sweden with us."
"Paul is exactly the type of player we are looking for - he
is young, has fantastic ability and I believe he is keen to
come and join us."
(Swans Online)
Insua helps Argentina reach last 16
Liverpool ace Emiliano Insua helped Argentina qualify for
the last 16 of the FIFA Under-20 World Cup in Canada after a
hard fought 1-0 win over Korea DPR in their final group
game.
The Liverpool left back played the full 90 minutes as the
holders progressed to the last 16. A solitary goal from
Sergio Aguero was enough to give Argentina the 1-0 win over
a tactically disciplined Korea side.
Argentina - with the help of Barcelona's Lionel Messi - won
the tournament when it was held in Holland in 2005 and are
favourites to triumph once again.
Insua is the first choice left back for Argentina and has
played in every match in the competition so far.
Before their win over Korea Argentina had drawn 0-0 with
Czech Republic in their first match and then turned on the
style to beat Panama 6-0.
(LFC Official Website)
Reds winger in quarter-final action
Liverpool winger Mark Gonzalez bids for a place in the
semi-finals of the Copa America when Chile face Brazil in
their quarter-final clash in the early hours of Sunday
morning.
Gonzalez and Chile will be hoping for revenge after they
lost 3-0 to Brazil in the group game earlier in the
tournament.
Chile qualified for the quarter-final when they drew 0-0
with Mexico in their final group match.
(LFC Official Website)
Gerrard: Americans can make us great
Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard believes the club is
heading in a new direction and the finances made available
by American owners George Gillett and Tom Hicks can make the
Reds "a great team".
Gerrard praised Gillett and Hicks for backing Benitez
financially, believing they have set the club on the way to
restoring former glories.
The England midfielder described the American duo as "classy
guys with sharp business minds".
"By handing Benitez the finance to strengthen, we can go
from a good team to a great team," Gerrard writes in the
paperback update of his autobiography out next week, reports
the Daily Telegraph.
(Sporting Life)
Voronin given no.10 shirt
Andriy Voronin has been given the number ten shirt.
Liverpool's new signing from Bayer Leverkusen has been given
the number ten shirt, made vacant following Luis Garcia's
transfer
to Athletico Madrid.
(LFC Online)
Cardiff want Fowler
Cardiff City want to sign Robbie Fowler.
The Championship club are prepared to offer the former
Liverpool striker
a one year contract. Fowler is believed to be one of three
Premiership players in talks with the Welsh club.
"We offered them what we think are attractive packages and
are hopeful they will decide to come to Cardiff City," said
Cardiff chairman Peter Risdale.
"I think the calibre of the players the club is approaching
shows how much we've progressed."
(LFC Online)
Momo turned down Barca and Juve
Liverpool midfielder Mohamed Sissoko has revealed he turned
down offers from both Barcelona and Juventus to remain at
Anfield.
The midfield enforcer struggled with a bad shoulder injury
for much of last season but has recently signed off on a new
four year with The Reds.
Speaking to football365.fr, Momo said: 'It is true that I
received nice offers this summer.'
"Those offers were interesting on both financial and
sporting levels. But I made up my mind and decided to stay
here because there is a nice project.
"Liverpool are an ambitious club hungry for titles and this
attracts me. Besides, staying can help me to progress.
"The offers came from Juventus and Barcelona. It has been
very difficult to take my decision as I was in direct
contact with both clubs. I analysed the pros and the cons
and made a choice that I don't regret."
(Vital Football - Liverpool)
Thor Zakariassen
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