OCTOBER 31
Aston Villa will
break
bank to sign
Peter Crouch
By Vicki Hodges - Daily Telegraph
Aston Villa are desperate to sign Liverpool striker Peter
Crouch in the January transfer window.
Manager Martin O'Neill is ready to break the £9.65 million club record fee
which saw them land Ashley Young, to bring Crouch back to Villa Park.
England international Crouch spent a largely unsuccessful two-year stint in
the Midlands after a £5m move from Portsmouth in 2002 and scored only six
goals in 47 Premier League appearances before then-manager David O'Leary
sold him to Southampton for £2m.
O'Neill remains an admirer of Crouch and enquired as to his availability
back in August but is now ready to launch a bid to sign the 26-year-old who
has scored 12 scores in 22 appearances for England.
Crouch has found himself down the pecking order at Liverpool this season
following the summer arrivals of Fernando Torres and Andriy Voronin and has
only started five games in all competitions this season.
Despite his bit-part role, Crouch is thought to still be happy at Anfield
and is not seeking a move away from the club.
Liverpool manager Rafa Benitez has also insisted that he wants to keep hold
of his giant striker but could be tempted by a big-money offer.
Sven-Goran Eriksson has already indicated his desire to bring Crouch to
Manchester City to bolster his current light-weight attack.
OCTOBER 29
Reds linked with Pandev move
Football 365
Liverpool are reported to be tracking Lazio forward Goran
Pandev.
The 24-year-old is regarded as one of the best prospects in Europe after
impressing for the Serie A side last season.
And Pandev's stock rose when he scored both goals for Lazio in their 2-2
draw with Real Madrid in the Champions League earlier this season.
His performances are thought to have caught the attention of Liverpool
scouts and Rafa Benitez is believed to be weighing up a move for the
Macedonian.
The Reds have struggled for goals so far this season despite the arrival of
Fernando Torres, and with doubts continuing to surround the future of Peter
Crouch, Benitez could be in the market for a new striker
Lazio are keen to keep hold of Pandev and he is contracted to them.
However, they face a fight to resist overtures for their most saleable asset
with Bayern Munich confirming their interest in the highly-rated attacker.
OCTOBER 21
Liverpool to
hijack Madrid target
By Ben Blackmore - Setanta Sports
Liverpool have emerged as front runners to sign Simon
Kjaer, one of the most highly-rated teenage talents
in Europe.
The 18-year-old defender has been courting interest from Europe's top clubs
with some fine performances for Danish club FC Midtyjlland.
Real Madrid are among the clubs tracking the defender’s progress, but it is
believed Liverpool have jumped to the head of the queue after sending scouts
to watch the player.
Agent Mikkel Beck told The Sunday Sun: "You realise how special this kid is
when Liverpool watch him and tell you he's good enough to play in their
first team.
"Messi, Rooney, Dos Santos - he is special like them.
"Lille and Monaco were the first to show an interest, then Real made a much
better offer and it was turned down. He is worth a lot more."
OCTOBER 11
Liverpool eye Bilbao
defender Amorebieta
Goal.com
According to reports, Liverpool are keeping an eye on
Athletic Bilbao defender Fernando Amorebieta, with a view to signing him in
the January transfer window.
After a summer of spending it appears that Benitez still feels he lacks
defensive cover, a point highlighted by the injury to Daniel Agger and
Alvaro Arbeloa.
Despite the Spaniard not being happy with his back line, Liverpool have only
conceded two goals from open play in the Premier League so far this season,
the basis for their better-than-usual start to the campaign.
Amorebieta can play across the back line, and being versatile would appeal
to Benitez who was unable to consolidate not bringing Gabriel Heinze to
Anfield.
Bilbao are said to be keen to hold on to the youngster, but the lure of
playing under Benitez at one of the biggest clubs in Europe could be too big
to refuse.
OCTOBER 11
Peter Crouch
£8m target of Man City
By Vicki Hodges - The Daily Telegraph
The Manchester City manager has made the England
international one of his top targets when the transfer window reopens to
bolster City's lightweight attack.
With Valeri Bojinov sidelined with a serious knee injury and Georgios
Samaras out of form, Eriksson has targeted 26-year-old Crouch as the 20-goal
per season striker required by City to maintain their good form in the
Premier League this season.
Crouch is a player Eriksson knows well having launched his England career
while he was the national coach.
Eriksson handed Crouch his international debut back in May 2005 against
Colombia while on a tour of the United States and took him to last year's
World Cup finals in Germany.
Liverpool manager Rafa Benitez is likely to welcome the interest shown by
Manchester City as Crouch has fallen down the pecking order since the summer
arrivals of Andriy Voronin and Fernando Torres.
Benitez is thought to want to offload Crouch so that he can free up some
cash to spend in the transfer window himself, with the long-term future of
midfielder Javier Mascherano one of his main priorities.
Crouch, who has 20 months left to run on his current deal, would equally be
keen to become reunited with Eriksson as he becomes frustrated at Benitez's
rotation policy.
The former Southampton striker has only started one League game this season
and scored once in Liverpool's Champions League qualifier against Toulouse.
OCTOBER 10
English giants track
Menez
By Patrick Haond - Sky Sports
Manchester United and Liverpool are reportedly scouting
Monaco star Jeremy Menez.
The 20-year-old signed for Monaco from Sochaux in June 2006 and is rated as
one of France's most gifted young talents.
Menez, who has been likened to France legend Zinedine Zidane, has scored
three goals in nine appearances so far this season.
The starlet made a real name for himself when he became the youngest player
to score a hat-trick in Ligue 1 at the age of 17.
OCTOBER 10
Reds linked with
Brazilian
By Al Campbell - LFC Online
Liverpool have been linked with Brazilian striker
Alfonso Alves.
Rafael Benitez is reportedly preparing a bid for the Heerenveen striker when
the transfer window re-opens in January.
Alves scored 34 times in 31 games in the Dutch top flight last season and
was named Holland's player of the year.
Alves' arrival would probably mean the departure of Peter Crouch who has not
signed a contract extension with the Reds.
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