Liverpool FC Forum

by **ycsatbjywtbiastkamb** » Mon May 27, 2013 12:02 pm

Reg » Mon May 27, 2013 3:09 am wrote:Knowing the lads on this forum, he left the club at 5pm to go home for dinner.

or he inadvertently left his sand wedge in a bunker on the 18th of caldy golf course

by **the return of HAS** » Mon May 27, 2013 12:19 pm

http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/liverpool-fc-eyeing-move-highly-rated-3864751

Liverpool FC eyeing move for highly-rated Sporting Lisbon defender Tiago Ilori

Liverpool FC will attempt to bring Sporting Lisbon defender Tiago Ilori to Anfield this summer.

The Reds have had the 20-year-old centre-back watched on a number of occasions and believe he has the qualities required to shine in the Premier League.

The Portuguese outfit are desperate to keep hold of Ilori, who has established himself as a first-team regular in recent months. However, their financial problems means they are under pressure to sell their prized assets.

London-born Ilori joined Sporting’s Academy in 2006 and has represented Portugal at under-20 level. He’s blessed with great pace and at 6ft 3ins is dominant in the air.

Liverpool have yet to submit a bid for Ilori, who has also attracted interest from Valencia. Ilori is viewed as one for the future rather than a direct replacement for retiring vice-captain Jamie Carragher.

There is no truth in speculation that the Reds are planning a move for Lyon’s Croatian defender Dejan Lovren.

by **the return of HAS** » Mon May 27, 2013 12:20 pm

http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/liverpool-fc-plan-12m-kyriakos-3902111

Come to Papa! LFC plan £12m Kyriakos Papadopoulos swoop

Liverpool FC are set to launch a £12million bid to sign Schalke centre-back Kyriakos Papadopoulos.

The Reds have identified the 21-year-old Greek international as their No 1 target to replace Jamie Carragher.

Papadopoulos missed the second half of the Bundesliga season after undergoing surgery on his left knee back in December but has now recovered and Liverpool have no concerns over his long-term fitness.

Manchester City, Chelsea and Atletico Madrid have also been linked with the highly-rated 6ft defender but the Reds are ready to act fast in the hope of winning the battle for his services.

Physically strong, comfortable in possession and dominant in the air, Papadopoulos has jumped above Swansea City's Ashley Williams and Ajax's Toby Alderweireld on the club's wish list of centre-backs.

The ECHO understands Liverpool are no longer interested in Williams with the Welsh club's £12million price tag for a player who turns 29 in August leading to them pursuing other options which provide better value.

As well as making a move for Papadopoulos, boss Brendan Rodgers is keen to further bolster his defensive options by completing deals for Manchester City's Kolo Toure and Sporting Lisbon's Tiago Ilori.

Ivory Coast international Toure is available on a free transfer as his contract at Eastlands expires this summer.

The 32-year-old is expected to hold talks with the Reds when he returns from Man City's end of season tour of America next week.

Rodgers is wary of the need to add more experience to his squad and believes Toure fits the bill.

Liverpool have been tracking Ilori for months and hoped the 20-year-old Portugal youth international centre-back would be available for around £1.5million.

However, having established himself in Sporting's first team towards the end of the campaign his value has increased.

It is likely to take a bid of around £3million to convince the cash-strapped Portuguese outfit to sell.

While Ilori is viewed as one for the future, Liverpool believe Papadopoulos would be able to come in and make an immediate impact in the Premier League.

Papadopoulos started his career at home town club Svoronos Katerinis before signing for Olympiacos in 2007.

When he made his first-team debut at the age of 15 he became the youngest player to every play in the Greek league.

He earned rave reviews for his performances for both Olympiakos and Greece Under-21s and in the summer of 2010 he moved to Schalke for around £2million.

During his three years in Germany his stock has continued to rise across Europe and he helped them reach the last 16 of this season's Champions League.

Back in August, Zenit St Petersburg had a £16million offer for Papadopoulos accepted but the player rejected the opportunity to join the wealthy Russian club and penned a new deal until 2016.

Schalke finished fourth in the Bundesliga last weekend to qualify for the Champions League but once again they are willing to sell Papadopoulos and Liverpool believe the Greece international would jump at the chance to make the switch to Anfield.

by **the return of HAS** » Mon May 27, 2013 12:21 pm

http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/liverpool-fc-eyeing-move-celta-4014493

Reds eyeing move for Celta Vigo striker Iago Aspas

Liverpool FC are hoping to boost their firepower with the signing of Celta Vigo forward Iago Aspas this summer.

The Reds have registered their interest in the 25-year-old Spaniard, who has plundered 11 goals in 32 appearances in La Liga this season.

Relegation-threatened Celta are resigned to losing Aspas during the upcoming transfer window.

However, they have made it clear they aren’t prepared to enter into negotiations until after the end of their league campaign in a fortnight.

Aspas has a buyout clause of 10 million euros (£8.5million) but could leave for half that price if Celta are relegated. With two games to play, bottom-placed Celta are four points adrift of safety.

Liverpool have had the 5ft 9ins frontman, who is a product of the club’s Academy, watched frequently this season and the reports have been glowing.

Equally at home leading the line, playing as a second striker or in a wider role, his versatility makes him a good fit for Brendan Rodgers’ system.

The manager wants a fourth striking option to complement Luis Suarez, Daniel Sturridge and Fabio Borini and improve the depth of his squad.

Liverpool believe Aspas fits the bill. He plundered a career-best 29 goals to help Celta win promotion back to Spain’s top flight in 2011/12.

This season he has been the star performer in a struggling side with six assists to go with his 11 league goals.

Blessed with good pace, fiercely committed and a clinical finisher, Aspas has also attracted interest from Swansea City and Valencia.

Once Celta’s fate is known, Liverpool will attempt to agree a fee with the Spanish outfit and try to convince the striker to make the move to Anfield.

The Reds are also looking to sign Schalke’s £12million-rated centre-back Kyriakos Papadopoulos. The 21-year-old Greek international is their No. 1 target to replace Jamie Carragher.

Liverpool are expected to snap up Manchester City’s experienced defender Kolo Toure on a free transfer and will open talks with Sporting Lisbon over young centre-back Tiago Ilori.

Lille’s talented left-back Lucas Digne is among a number of other players under consideration at Anfield.

by **the return of HAS** » Mon May 27, 2013 12:22 pm

The Liverpool Echo do a regular round up of rumours from other papers (mostly nonsense) but have only printed 3 of their own articles. When they do these articles there is normally some genuine truth in them.

by **Reg** » Tue May 28, 2013 3:57 am

After missing out on Brazilian youngster Neymar, Real Madrid have turned their attention to Liverpool's Luis Suarez (ESPN)

by **stmichael** » Tue May 28, 2013 1:27 pm

this is gonna be one long summer

by **Benny The Noon** » Tue May 28, 2013 1:40 pm

Monaco are just about to spend close to 100mil on three players - Falcao , Moutinho and Rodriguez !!

We can only dream of players like that joining us now

by **ycsatbjywtbiastkamb** » Tue May 28, 2013 2:47 pm

stmichael » Tue May 28, 2013 12:27 pm wrote:this is gonna be one long summer

someone put it succinctly the other day in the general discussion thread when they said that although a lot of progress has been made and there were a lot of positives to take out of the season, we are only one `luis suarez putting a transfer request in` away from being right back in crisis.
this may be wishful thinking on my part but i actually dont think luis would leave us for someone like bayern, as good as they are the german domestic league isnt that popular around the world, but real madrid are a completely different kettle of fish.
when either of the 2 spanish giants come in for any player it`s very difficult to say no, even harder when you are south american.
we`ve just got to hope that espn report is wild speculation but if madrid do lose christiano ronaldo to chelsea or united (which our press seem to think will happen) they are going to want a superstar to fill his shoes.
it would be a double blow if ronaldo went to one of our rivals and at the same time we lost our best player :glare:

one long summer indeed.

by **jacdaniel** » Tue May 28, 2013 3:15 pm

Losing Suarez, whether this year or down the line, is just something we will likely have to deal with. We're just not in a strong enough position as a club to hold onto such a class talented player at this stage of his career. (peak years) Thats the harsh truth.

He could walk into any side in the world.

by **stmichael** » Tue May 28, 2013 3:30 pm

toure deal expected to be confirmed in next 24 hours. good to see the club getting deals done early.

by **maguskwt** » Tue May 28, 2013 4:35 pm

stmichael » Tue May 28, 2013 2:30 pm wrote:toure deal expected to be confirmed in next 24 hours. good to see the club getting deals done early.

can he still do a job though?

by **ycsatbjywtbiastkamb** » Tue May 28, 2013 5:27 pm

toure has probably got another 2 seasons left in him at a good level which is probably what we need.
carragher has retired, skrtel looks to be inviting offers, wilson has gone to hearts, coates`s future is uncertain and even the other defenders we are being linked with like papdopolous and alderweired are in their early 20`s which is young for CB`s so it makes sense to have a wise old head in there incase things dont quite gel as quickly as we hope.
by all accounts he accepts he will be a squad player and not a definate starter and in terms of experience he has captained both arsenal and city, won the prem with more than one team, won 3 F.A cups and played in league cup finals and a CL final so he will be a handy fella to have around considering we have a young squad.

by **Benny The Noon** » Tue May 28, 2013 5:46 pm

Toure is leaving City and not being given a new contract for a reason - he isn't good enough. How that means he is good enough for us I'm not sure.

by **ycsatbjywtbiastkamb** » Tue May 28, 2013 5:52 pm

Benny The Noon » Tue May 28, 2013 4:46 pm wrote:Toure is leaving City and not being given a new contract for a reason - he isn't good enough. How that means he is good enough for us I'm not sure.

just because the richest club in the world arent giving him a new contract at 32 doesnt mean he cant still do a job.

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