JUNE 16
Frustrated Benitez to step up chase for Kuyt

By David Prior - Daily Post Staff

Rafael Benitez will step up his attempts to bring Feyenoord striker Dirk Kuyt to Anfield as he looks to relieve a frustrating summer in the transfer market so far.

The Liverpool manager is finding it difficult to make any headway as he plans an overhaul of his side in time for the new season, with his transfer kitty of around £20million allowing little room for manouervre.

He has, however, made the 24-year-old Kuyt his number one target - but only if he can force Feyenoord down from their current £10m valuation to around £7-8m.

Kuyt, who scored 29 goals last season in the Dutch league, has already voiced his desire to come to Merseyside but unless Liverpool can lower his club's asking price, Benitez will have to look elsewhere.

But he will mount one last effort to persuade Feyenoord to release their star striker and claim a player he has wanted for some time.

The Spaniard has already had to cool his interest in Peter Crouch after Southampton demanded £7m for the tall frontman's services.

And reports in Spain yesterday suggested Real Madrid were monitoring Benitez's difficulties closely - and were prepared to test his willingness to keep hold of Steven Gerrard.

Real are known to have placed the Liverpool captain at the top of their shopping list and, one report claimed, would test the Anfield club's resolve in their upcoming contract negotiations with Gerrard - and then offer highly--rated Juanfran as part of any deal.

Gerrard this week insisted "the ball is in Liverpool's court" regarding his new deal, which he confirmed he intends to sign before the start of next season.

Ideally, Benitez wants Gerrard to stay, but he is also understood to be interested in several Real players - including winger Juanfran - and will face a difficult decision were Real to submit a £30m-plus bid for his skipper.

Unlikely to interest Benitez, however, is Luis Figo.

Qatar club Al Rayyan claim they are in a bidding war with Liverpool for the 32-year-old, who could become available on the cheap this summer, albeit on high wages.

His financial demands would probably put a strain on Liverpool, and Benitez told the El Mundo Deportivo newspaper:

"There are many people at Real Madrid that we are aware of, but we really know our limitations."

Raul was also suggested as a target last week, but he is considered by president Florentino Perez as the embodiment of the Spanish giants and seems destined to spend his entire career in Madrid.

"There are players that cannot leave and there are others we do not want," Benitez added.

JUNE 16
Reds join Miguel chase

By Mark Kendall - Planet Football/Sky Sports

Liverpool are reported to have joined the long list of clubs chasing Benfica's highly-rated full back Miguel.

The Portugal international right back is rated in the £4-5 million bracket and has been linked with the likes of Real Madrid, Internazionale, Juventus, CSKA Moscow and Newcastle in the past.

Indeed, Newcastle's interest last summer seemed particularly concrete, but The Magpies failed to concur on a deal for the 25-year-old whom recently-crowned Portuguese champions Benfica are still loathe to lose.

Benitez is believed to view the pacey defender as an excellent addition to his UEFA Champions League winning squad, but is sure to face fierce competition if he does firm up his interest.

The player's agent Jean Musampa confirmed to skysports.com a fortnight ago that he was aware of interest from a host of Europe's top clubs, but it does seem the full back could finally be prised from Estadio da Luz this summer.

Meanwhile, The Reds have also been linked with a move for Real Madrid midfielder Juanfran.

The 20-year-old winger has long been highly regarded at the Santiago Bernabeu, but has failed to make the breakthrough to Real's first team.

Benitez is well aware of the youngster's talents and is ready to offer him the chance to prove himself after losing patience with Juanfran's former team-mate Antonio Nunez.

JUNE 15
Lens keen on Reds midfielder

Kop Talk

French outfit Lens have been linked with a possible move for Liverpool midfielder Salif Diao.

Having failed to impress manager Rafael Benitez, Diao was farmed out to Premiership side Birmingham City last season but only played a couple of games due to injury. His future remains uncertain and the Reds won't stand in his way if he finds another club.

According to newspaper reports today, if Lens fail to complete the permanent signing of Alou Diarra from Liverpool, they will instead turn their intentions to Diao.

JUNE 15
Owen 'wants Chelsea move'

TEAMtalk

Michael Owen has reportedly told Real Madrid that if he is forced to leave the Bernabeu, he wants to join Premiership champions Chelsea.

And the La Liga giants hope that Owen's preferrence to join the Blues may be able to tempt Chelsea to part with their talismanic midfielder Frank Lampard.

Lampard recently topped a poll of Real fans asking them who they would most like to see joining the Madrid Galacticos.

Reports claim that Real president Florentino Perez is to offer Chelsea £20m plus Owen to lure Lampard to Spain.

If this move fails Madrid may ask to have first refusal on the player if he ever decides to leave Stamford Bridge.

Lampard is the highest-paid player in the Premiership after Chelsea handed him a five-year deal worth £5m a year last summer.

JUNE 14
Reds tipped as Figo suitors

By Mark Kendall - Planet Football/Sky Sports

Qatar-based club Al Rayyan have confirmed they are interested in signing Luis Figo, and insist Liverpool are amongst the clubs rivalling them for the Portuguese star.

Figo has been tipped to leave Real Madrid this summer as he does not appear to be in coach Wanderley Luxemburgo's first-team plans.

He was relegated to the substitutes' bench for the closing weeks of last season and made no secret of his unhappiness at his predicament.

The 32-year-old still has 12 months left on his contract at Real but insists he will move on if he can not be guaranteed regular action.

A host of clubs have been linked with his signature including Manchester United, Tottenham, Lyon and Marseille.

But Al Rayyan have now added their name to that list and hope a hugely lucrative financial package could lure him to the Middle East.

However, they accept they will face huge competition for the former Barcelona winger, and claim Liverpool are perhaps best-placed to sign him.

"We are genuinely on the trail of Figo, but Liverpool are also there and will be a difficult rival," Al Rayyan president Ali Al Noaimi told A Bola.

"We are prepared to match the offer of the English, if he accepts it."

JUNE 12
Reds reject Owen return

TEAMtalk

Liverpool have reportedly rejected the chance to buy back Real Madrid striker Michael Owen, but the Premiership's big three remain interested.

Reports in the media suggest that while the European champions were sounded out by a third party acting for Madrid and Owen on the prospect of him returning to Anfield, they have declined the chance.

Real paid just £8m for the striker as he only had one year left on his contract, but the Spanish giants are now looking to sell Owen for close to double that original price.

This is thought to be the deterrant for Liverpool and boss Rafa Benitez, who wants to bring in five or six players this summer to strengthen the squad before an extra-long season.

Serious contact between Owen and Liverpool is understood to have taken place more than a week ago.

But the Reds' lack of interest could leave the door open for Owen to join Arsenal, Chelsea or Manchester United, who are all believed to be interested in bring the England international back to the Premiership.

Madrid are said to have contacted United in a similar way to Liverpool and Owen has been informed of the Old Trafford club's interest.

JUNE 12
Spain targets lined up for Liverpool move

talklfc.com

Two or maybe even three defenders from La Liga are being lined up for summer moves to Anfield ahead of Liverpool's Champions League qualifying matches.

Malaga's Alexis Ruano Delgado, Zaragoza's Gabriel Milito and Pablo Ibanez of Atletico Madrid could all make the move from the continent. Alexis is currently playing for the Spain U-20's in the FIFA world cup in Holland and is likely to be loaned out back to Malaga rightaway.

Gabriel Milito is still Rafael Benitez primary target to strengthen the Reds defence but with pre-season starting early and Champions League qualification looming at the horizon, he may also move for his number two target Ibanez. The Spain international is said to cost around 7 million pounds though which could convince the Liverpool boss to look elsewhere.

It is expected that Benitez will look mainly at the Premiership and his former stomping ground for reinforcements to a Liverpool squad that could see even more players leave in the summer. One of the first things he did when he came to the club was to get rid of players who had been underperforming for years, but there was not enough time and money to bring in the players to replace them.

This season he was expected to have more time but with the first Champions League qualifying round starting on 12 July, that is not the case.

JUNE 12
Diarra Lens deal almost final

talklfc.com

Liverpool midfielder Alou Diarra is almost certainly heading to Lens on a permanent basis in the summer. This is reported by French magazine Equippe.

Lens are willing to pay the 2 million pound asking price for the player and have offered him a four year deal. However, Lens are offering lower wages than the player is currently on at Anfield which may cause problems.

The player's agent, Janos Toth, was earlier reported to have said the chance of Diarra moving to the Sang et Or is 50-50.

However, Lens are confident that a deal can be done in the very near future. Lens manager Francis Gillot told l'Equippe:""I gave him my opinion and Raymond Domenech (France national team) reminded him that it was to better play to him in France in the months which precede the World cup"

He continued:"If he does not stay he will be hard to replace as players of his ilk are hard to come by at this price"

Diarra has never made a first team appearance in a competative match for Liverpool in the three years he has been at the club. He was brought to Anfield by Gerard Houllier on a free from Bayern Munich where he had also failed to impress.

Since moving on loan to Lens last summer though he has forced his way into the France national setup and Benitez may be unwilling to let the 23-year-old leave cheaply unless he already has a replacement lined up for him.

JUNE 10
Strachan linked to Kirkland

Evening Times

Celtic have been linked with Liverpool keeper Chris Kirkland.

The 24-year-old worked with Gordon Strachan at Coventry, and it's believed that he is on the wanted list of the new Hoops boss.

West Bromwich Albion are trying to reach a season-long loan deal with Liverpool, and a similar agreement could be something that Celtic pursue.

JUNE 10
Reds tracking Ibanez

By Alex Livie - Sky Sports

Liverpool have reportedly rekindled their interest in Atletico Madrid defender Pablo Ibanez, as manager Rafa Benitez sets about an overhaul of his Anfield squad.

Despite Jamie Carragher and Sami Hyypia covering themselves in glory during The Reds' successful march to UEFA Champions League glory, Benitez is said to be keen on bringing in a new centre half.

Real Zaragoza's impressive Argentina international Gabriel Milito is believed to be Benitez's number one target, but he is also assessing other options - with Ibanez a long-term target.

Benitez had been linked with a move for the talented defender when taking charge last year, but failed to push through with a bid during January's transfer window.

Ibanez improved his contract with Los Rojiblancos in February, extending his commitment until 2009, but he is rumoured to be mulling over his future after the club's form tailed off in the second half of the campaign.

Atletico cannot offer the defender European football next term and this could be a major plus point for The Reds, although Benitez may keep a watching brief until the transfer merry-go-round kicks into full swing.

JUNE 7
Reds eye Slovak starlet

By Slava Zaitsev - Sky Sports

Liverpool are keeping close tabs on highly-rated Slovak defender Martin Skrtel.

Hamburg and Anderlecht are also monitoring the 20-year-old who is currently plying his trade in Russia with Zenit St Petersburg.

Skrtel only moved to Zenit last summer from AS Trencin when they beat Hertha Berlin to his signature, mainly due to the fact that the Russian side are managed by Slovak Vlastimil Petrzhela.

Now the youngster has emerged as one of the best defenders in the Russian league and he is attracting interest from some of Europe's big hitters.

Petrzhela has confirmed Liverpool's interest in his young starlet.

"The Englishmen are seriously interested in buying Martin," confirmed Petrzhela to SovSport.

"But we don't want to lose him.

"This weekend Skrtel was called to the national team for the first time, but I asked Dusan Galis not to use Martin in the first team and to use him in the Under-21s.

"I want to keep him away from scouts. But they looked for him in the Under-21 game too."

Slovakia are now a full fledged member of the EU, so Liverpool would be allowed to sign Skrtel without any work-permit problems.

JUNE 7
Sochaux enter Cheyrou race

By Patrick Haond - Sky Sports

Sochaux have reportedly joined the race for Liverpool misfit Bruno Cheyrou.

The midfielder had been on loan at Ligue 1 side Marseille over the course of the past season, although failed to secure a starting berth at Stade Velodrome during his stay.

With Liverpool claiming the UEFA Champions League trophy in Rafa Benitez's first season in charge it is unlikely that Cheyrou will be considered a valuable first team player at Anfield next season.

The 27-year-old is expected to remain in France next term and has attracted interest from both St Etienne and Nice as he attempts to rejuvenate his career after a spell in the footballing wilderness.

Sochaux are now also believed to be considering a move for Cheyrou as they look to bolster their squad following the departure of Tunisian striker Francileudo dos Santos.

Guy Lacombe's side finished a respectable tenth position in Le Championnat, and would view Cheyrou as an important addition to the squad if they can fend off other interest in the Liverpool man.
 

JUNE 6
Liverpool linked with Parker

By Al Campbell - LFC Online

Liverpool are the latest club to be linked with a move for unsettled Chelsea midfielder Scott Parker.

Parker is set to leave Chelsea this summer for around £6m and has emerged as a Liverpool midfield target along with Owen Hargreaves.

Newcastle and Everton are also interested in the former Charlton man but Liverpool's status as Champions of Europe could put them in the driving seat.

JUNE 5
Mellor linked with WBA

By Al Campbell - LFC Online

Neil Mellor has been linked with a summer move to
West Bromwich Albion.

Bryan Robson will test the water with a £750,000 bid for the former Academy and reserve top scorer.

Although Mellor would like to remain a Red the reported bid for Peter Crouch will push him further down the Anfield pecking order and he may be prepared to leave to gain first team football.

JUNE 4
Premier trio on Upson alert

TEAMtalk

Birmingham City defender Matthew Upson could be leaving after rejecting a new contract offer from the club and breaking off negotiations.

Manager Steve Bruce is anxious to secure the 26-year-old England international on a five-year contract and the club initiated talks with Upson and his agent Barry Nevill earlier this year.

But Nevill has revealed that Upson has ended discussions with Blues and wants to assess his options this summer after two-and-a-half seasons at St Andrews.

Nevill said: "We did speak to the club about a new contract but Matt decided he didn't want to accept it.

"Matt is still contracted to Birmingham and he has enjoyed his time at the club, but he's quite happy to let things carry on and see what happens.

"We are not talking to Birmingham about a new contract at the moment and we haven't got any plans to."

Upson, who is valued at about £5m, still has another year left on his contract and there is the option of a further 12 months should the club wish. Hence his services are fixed for the forseeable future.

But with Premiership rivals such as Newcastle, Liverpool and Middlesbrough reportedly expressing an interest in Upson, he may view leaving St Andrews as a chance to enhance his prospects of being selected to the England squad for next year's World Cup.

The defender, who has six caps, faces stiff competition to even make Sven-Goran Eriksson's squad with Rio Ferdinand, Sol Campbell, John Terry, Jamie Carragher, Zat Knight and Ledley King all vying for four spots.

Upson, who is intelligent and articulate, is aware of this and has stated in the past that his contemporaries who are playing in Europe regularly with their clubs have the best chance of being called up by England - a factor Nevill naturally reiterated.

He told the Birmingham Evening Mail: "Matt does need to be playing European football really with his club side if he is to make any headway internationally."

JUNE 4
Raul quit hint alerts Liverpool

BBC Sport Online

Liverpool have been linked with a move for Raul after the Spain striker hinted he may be ready to leave Real Madrid after a glittering 11-year career.

The 27-year-old may favour joining Liverpool's Spanish contingent under Rafael Benitez, which includes former Real team-mate Fernando Morientes.

He said: "If I listen to polls in papers it looks as though I should leave. I want what is best for Real.

"If at some time I have to sacrifice myself for Real to progress I will."

Liverpool boss Benitez is determined to rebuild his squad, despite their dramatic Champions League final win against AC Milan in Istanbul.

Raul believes he has yet to peak, but has called on the Bernabeu club to tell him if he still has a future there.

He said: "If the club calls you up and says you have to go, then as a player you have to be prepared to look for a way out that benefits everyone.

"I still feel useful to the club and believe I have not reached my peak, but I don't want to be in the way. All I want is for the club to be clear with me."

JUNE 2
Rafa eyes big man

By Chris Bascombe - Liverpool Echo

Liverpool target Peter Crouch's future will be resolved after crunch talks with Southampton as Rafa Benitez edges closer to a shock swoop for the target man.

Crouch has emerged as the surprising name near the top of Benitez's summer shopping list, with a £5m bid likely if the striker decides to leave relegated Saints.

Feyenoord's Dirk Kuyt has also attracted the Liverpool boss, but he's equally interested in the new England cap who he believes could be a solution to the European Champions' away day woes.

Benitez believes the lack of height and strength in attack was a key reason behind his side's poor away record last season.

He wants a target man who'll relieve the pressure in Premiership away games, having reached the conclusion Fernando Morientes needs more assistance leading the line.

While Crouch's public image may not make him an instantly attractive option for Liverpool fans seeking star names, Benitez's scouting reports on the striker have been exemplary.

The 24-year-old made his England debut in America, linking with exstriker Michael Owen to create one of the goals and Benitez believes there is more to 6ft 7 inch player than heading skills.

Crouch's salary was halved to just over £4,000 a week due to Southampton's relegation. His wages could be quadrupled if he moved to Anfield.

Southampton manager Harry Redknapp is making a last minute effort to keep Crouch this week, holding talks which will make the striker's future clearer.

"It's not going to be easy for Crouchy, but I just hope he will be patient and stay with us until at least January," said Redknapp today.

Liverpool will be monitoring those development closely over the next few days.

JUNE 2
Benitez targets Zenden

ITV Football

Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez looks set to make an appoach for Middlesbrough's out-of-contract winger Bolo Zenden.

The Dutch midfielder has turned down an extension to his current contract at Boro, which expires in one month's time, and Benitez would be able to sign the player on a free transfer.

Zenden was a key part of Middlesbrough's rise up the Premiership, leading to Uefa cup qualification, and the departure of the clubs' Player of the Year would be a huge blow to manager Steve McLaren, who claimed he would "do everything possible to make sure he stays".

"Yes, I am confident of keeping him. I was talking to the chairman about the necessity to make sure we keep our best players this year - and he is one," he said recently.

McClaren is also looking to tie down George Boateng on a long term deal.

JUNE 1
Benitez chases £10m Aimar

TEAMtalk

Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez has made Valencia playmaker Pablo Aimar his main target this summer.

The Argentine midfielder, valued at £10m, has a good relationship with Benitez - the man who brought him to Europe when he was coach of Valencia - and Aimar would relish a chance in the Premiership.

"Benitez is an excellent coach who knows me well and Liverpool would be an ideal place to go if I can't sort out my future here," said the 25-year-old. "English football is the best in Europe next to Spain and I do not think I'd have a problem adapting to the Premiership."

The European Cup winners are also said to be chasing Real Zaragoza defender Gabriel Milito.

Milito is one of the most highly-rated defenders in La Liga but Zaragoza may be forced to sell as they struggle with debts approaching £30m.

Thor Zakariassen ©