Liverpool FC Forum

[tubby]

They are both as bad as each other when it comes to courting other peoples players. I think Real have spent too much and are just getting fustrated they can't sell any of their own players.

[JoeTerp]

is it just me, or do we seem to be short on "breaking developments" today? i am guessing it will be a lot of nothing until it nears this new deadline, then it will heat up again?

[Effes]

Probably right Joe - I think the fact that it's gone 5pm and it's
a Friday may have something to do with it too mate.

[Toffeehater]

Personally i'd like to see Rafa use the money from the Xabi transfer to go for someone like Danielle De Rossi of Roma.

Exactly what we need in the middle.

Technical ability, great passer and header of the ball and as tough as well done steak.

He someone like SG and likely cost 45m-60m ...

Similar but not exactly the same as SG. More defensively minded.

A partnership made in heaven if you ask me. I reckon he could be got for somewher in the region of £25-30m. Roma need the cash these days.

Arsenal are rumored to be bidding for him and if they do , they would have more or less one of the strongest center midfield partnerships and allow cesc to move further up in an more attacking role . 30 million is what roma want for him but i'm sure he can be negotiated to 25 million or so

[devaney]

It is a good partnership but then that we cant have any other high profile striker aside from Torres as they would have to play 2nd fiddle to him. Id rather we go 442 and have 2 quality strikers up front all the time rather.

Bav - I regard Gerrard as a top striker and anything else he fancies doing on the pitch! I stopped labelling as a midfield player a very long time ago.

[JoeTerp]

Personally i'd like to see Rafa use the money from the Xabi transfer to go for someone like Danielle De Rossi of Roma.

Exactly what we need in the middle.

Technical ability, great passer and header of the ball and as tough as well done steak.

He someone like SG and likely cost 45m-60m ...

Similar but not exactly the same as SG. More defensively minded.

A partnership made in heaven if you ask me. I reckon he could be got for somewher in the region of £25-30m. Roma need the cash these days.

Arsenal are rumored to be bidding for him and if they do , they would have more or less one of the strongest center midfield partnerships and allow cesc to move further up in an more attacking role . 30 million is what roma want for him but i'm sure he can be negotiated to 25 million or so

would also think that would seriously curtail our chances of signing Aquilani if De Rossi left this window.  I don't think he would go to Arsenal, but they must have some kind of cash after selling Adebayor and Toure, so who knows.

[NANNY RED]

I would ask for Granero plus the 20 million, exceptional player who could easily provide Liverpool with a new cutting edge.

20 MILLION plus Granero will do for me an all. Considering he has just been brought back from Getafe after having a fantastic season there , an who is absolutly adored by the Getafe fans, They were very reluctant to let him go,

GREAT DEAL  THAT IF WE COULD PULL IT OFF

[mrt]

Am I the only one who thinks Daniele De Rossi is Robbie Savage with a sensible haircut?...

[Nando26]

It is a good partnership but then that we cant have any other high profile striker aside from Torres as they would have to play 2nd fiddle to him. Id rather we go 442 and have 2 quality strikers up front all the time rather.

Bav - I regard Gerrard as a top striker and anything else he fancies doing on the pitch! I stopped labelling as a midfield player a very long time ago.

Yeh because the Torres Gerrard thing just aint working out 

[Dundalk]

Im liking this guy

[J*o*n*D*o*e]

they remind me of our owners

[roberto green]

Im liking this guy

What do you mean this is a pic of nanny

[roberto green]

they remind me of our owners

no our owners are really big saggy titts

[TheLad]

Im liking this guy

What do you mean this is a pic of nanny

I always liked Nanny.. Very much. 

[Reg]

Benitez hot on the trail of Aquilani - The Independant

The Roma and Italy midfielder Alberto Aquilani is Liverpool's primary target as the departure of Xabi Alonso became ever more inevitable yesterday. The Spanish midfielder raised the stakes in his battle to leave the club by formally requesting a transfer to Real Madrid, who have pursued him all summer.

Aquilani, 25, has been a long-term target for manager Rafael Benitez, who has been given encouragement that the player, one of Roma's three home-grown stars along with Francisco Totti and Daniele De Rossi, may become available this summer. He would not be cheap but should cost less than the £30m that Liverpool want for Alonso.

Benitez's hard-line stance on Alonso – that the player is contracted to the club until 2012 and will not be allowed to leave – should soften if a deal can be done with Roma for Aquilani.

Alonso, 27, trained with Liverpool yesterday but all summer has avoided giving any public assurances that he is prepared to stay at the club. Florentino Perez, the Madrid president, has offered around £24m for the player and is expected now to raise his bid to £30m to prise him away from the club.

In the pursuit of Aquilani, the volatile financial position at Roma has made the club difficult to deal with and they are fearful of the repercussions from their supporters if they sell one of the best players in their squad. Accordingly, Alonso will also have to wait to leave until Benitez can guarantee that the signing of Aquilani is a genuine possibility.

There have been enquiries from Liverpool about Lee Cattermole, as reported in The Independent last month, but the Wigan midfielder is still much further down the list of players in whom Benitez has a real interest. In Aquilani, an Italy international, he has a player capable of fulfilling the crucial linking role between defence and attack that Alonso has performed since joining from Real Sociedad five years ago.

Roma are currently in a crisis over the future of the club after a proposed takeover by the agent Vinicio Fioranelli, who was representing a Swiss conglomerate, collapsed last month. He was to have paid £166m for the Sensi family's controlling 67 per cent stake, but since that deal broke down, the Sensi family have found themselves under investigation by regulators of Italy's financial markets.

Efforts are being made to sell some of the team, who finished sixth in Serie A last season and beat Chelsea 3-1 at home in the Champions League in November. The club have suggested that the striker Mirko Vicunic, who scored twice against Chelsea that night, and the defender Phillipe Mexes could be allowed to leave, but parting with De Rossi or Aquilani would be deeply unpopular with fans.

The departure of Alonso has demonstrated that – like Manchester United – Liverpool are also vulnerable to the finance and power of Perez's new regime. Alonso was formerly one of Benitez's most loyal players, but relations with the manager began to break down in the 2007-08 season when Alonso asked for time to off to attend the birth of his first child.

He changed his mind at the last minute and made himself available to play against Internazionale in the Champions League first knockout round in March 2008. Benitez decided to leave him behind anyway and dismissed the possibility of the player joining up with the squad later. Last summer Benitez tried to sell him to Juventus to raise the money to buy Gareth Barry from Aston Villa.

Nevertheless, the loss of one of the players who used to be teased by his Liverpool team-mates that he was "son of Rafa", so close was he perceived to be to his manager, is still a significant blow. Despite nearly leaving for Juventus and Arsenal last summer, Alonso showed some of his best form at Anfield last season.

The £3.5m deal to take Alvaro Arbeloa from Liverpool to Real Madrid was completed yesterday. However, Benitez has not yet got rid of disastrous Italian left-back Andrea Dossena, who is the subject of a £4m bid from Napoli.