Liverpool FC Forum

The web seems to be awash with news of the story that Jermaine Pennant is set to sign for Liverpool over the next couple of days.
I first found the story on the Beeb site an hour or so ago and since then, the rest of the world seems to have caught on. The fee being bandied about is £6.2m. I have no doubts that Liverpool will offer adequate terms!
Is the deal better for Blues or Liverpool?
I suppose it depends on what Liverpool do with him. If they leave him to his own devices then he’ll end up on the footballing scrapheap. He’s been looked after very well at St Andrews and still managed to get into a number of scrapes whilst here. He needs a steady guiding hand and if he gets that, he could become a star.
£6.2m is a good price for Blues. Let’s not forget that whilst he crossed more than any other player last season, only a very, very small percentage of his crosses actually managed to hit the right areas. He rarely beats a man and whilst some work would no doubt improve his crossing, he is by no way the finished article.
Pennant is at a very important point in his career and £6m for a player that could go either way is a big gamble for any club. In fact looking at it, he might’ve still gone off the rails at St Andrews (unlikely) and the £3m that we paid might’ve gone to waste.
What I am thankful for is the way Pennant has handled himself during this whole transfer dealing. He has said all the right things and didn’t kick up a fuss when we were relegated. The deal has dragged on and on and all the way through, Pennant has remained loyal enough to Blues to not throw in a transfer request. Many a player would’ve been unsettled by the speculation.
So what now for Blues?
Well, I honestly believe that many a Blues fan will feel disgruntled by the news. The club MUST reinvest the Pennant money. Missing him on the right wing will be a big blow and we’re still at least one centre back and one striker missing. These positions will need to be filled in double-quick time if the board are to avoid a complete disaster in terms of the fans feeling cheated by all the promises.
I’ll keep a watch with interest. I also sincerely hope Pennant goes on to be a big star. No-one can ever deny that we were the club that rescued him.

Pennant ready to join Liverpool for £6m

Dominic Fifield and Stuart James
Wednesday July 26, 2006
The Guardian

Liverpool will complete the signing of the Birmingham City winger Jermaine Pennant today after an improved bid worth about £6m for the player proved more acceptable to the Championship club's board.

The former England Under-21 midfielder was due at Melwood for a medical last night and, provided the tests show up no problems, will complete negotiations over personal terms today before travelling to Switzerland to join his new team-mates for their pre-season training camp and tour. A proportion of the fee is expected to be linked to appearances and Pennant could make his debut in Saturday's friendly against Kaiserslautern in Liechtenstein.

Article continues
The signing ends a torturous pursuit of a right-sided midfielder by Rafael Benítez, who has been attempting to strengthen his side's flank virtually since his appointment at the club, with the lack of options in the position forcing him to use Steven Gerrard there for much of last term. The Spaniard's first choice had been to Sevilla's Daniel Alves but talks reached deadlock, with the Uefa Cup winners' refusal to drop their original £10m valuation of the Brazilian eventually ending Benítez's hopes completing that signing.

There were initially similar problems with Birmingham over Pennant when the opening bid of £3.5m was quickly dismissed; City must pay 25% of any fee for the 23-year-old to his former club, Arsenal, under the terms of the deal that took the former Notts County trainee long-term from Highbury to St Andrew's a year ago. City will rest a little easier now that they will eventually make a profit of £1.5m on a player who showed flashes of his quality last season, even if he was ultimately unable to prevent their relegation from the Premiership.

Like another of the new signings this summer, Craig Bellamy, Pennant will arrive at Anfield with much to prove. Secured as a 15-year-old from County by Arsenal for £2m, a record fee for a trainee at the time, his impact was blunted by a succession of disciplinary problems. Even a hat-trick on his Premiership debut for the Gunners, in 2003, failed to convince Arsène Wenger that his was a talent worth pursuing and loan spells at Watford, Leeds and Birmingham followed before he signed for City last summer.

That transfer went through despite Pennant's arrest for drink-driving after he crashed his Mercedes into a lamp-post in Aylesbury while serving a 16-month driving ban, an offence which saw him sentenced to 90 days in prison. He was eventually released on parole after 30 days and played with an electronic tag on his ankle.

Pennant will travel to Switzerland once the deal is complete, with Benítez still hopeful of adding another player, most likely the Dutch international forward Dirk Kuyt, to his squad before the new season. The club hope to make some progress in pursuit of that deal before the weekend.

The Manchester City manager Stuart Pearce believes Joey Barton can push the club forward, claiming the controversial midfielder is maturing as a player and a man. Barton has signed a new four-year deal after seven months of negotiations. The saga saw the 23-year-old coming in for widespread criticism for dragging the matter out and treating City with a lack of respect.

Barton's agent Willie McKay has warned Manchester City that big clubs will continue to chase the player if his ambition is not met at Eastlands, however. McKay said Barton's new deal includes a £5.5m buy-out clause.

The agent added: "One official was Middlesbrough, then there was two unofficial - let's say they phoned up to say there was an opportunity for Joey to go. Joey really wants to play at the top and play Champions League, and no doubt he will, either with Manchester City or a top club will come in for Joey in maybe two or three years."

Barton is understood to have doubled his money to £30,000 a week and Pearce said: "There has been a vast improvement in Joey's conduct. He is more mature than he was at Christmas, that's for sure, with the way he carries himself on and off the pitch."

Pearce is delighted that Micah Richards's future has been resolved. The 18-year-old defender has also agreed a four-year deal

Liverpool on the brink of landing Pennant for £6.2m
By Paul Walker
Published: 26 July 2006

Liverpool are on the brink of signing the winger Jermaine Pennant in a £6.2m transfer from Birmingham. Sources close to the Championship club claim a deal has been agreed and that the player is on his way to Anfield for talks.

Liverpool have been trailing the former Arsenal youngster for several weeks, but had Seville's Brazilian midfielder Daniel Alves as their No 1 target. But the Spanish club are insisting on a £12m deal and the Liverpool manager, Rafael Benitez, considers that too high a price since the fee would wipe out his entire summer transfer budget.

Benitez claimed on Monday that there "could be another two players in by the weekend", and his first target was clearly Pennant. Birmingham confirmed that they had turned down one bid of £3.5m from the Anfield club, and the Blues manager, Steve Bruce, suggested that he wanted £8m because of the 25 per cent sell-on clause in the deal when he signed the player from Arsenal for £3m a year ago.

The clubs are now believed to have agreed a £6.2m deal, leaving Benitez with funds to bring in another striker. That could be Feyenoord's Dirk Kuyt, but again they will have to try to negotiate down the Dutch club's £12m asking price.

Liverpool have tried one player-cash approach, thought to involve Jan Kromkamp and Jerzy Dudek in part-exchange, which was rejected. But if the deal for Pennant goes through, it will solve a year-long problem for Benitez, who has tried to sign a right-sided attacker for the past three transfer windows.

Bruce could use the money from a Pennant deal to finance another bid for Gary McSheffrey. Birmingham have had two offers rejected for Coventry's leading scorer last season, but Bruce needs a new striker to supplement D J Campbell, Mikael Forssell and Cameron Jerome, particularly after the sale of Emile Heskey to Wigan for £5.5m.

Liverpool are on the brink of signing the winger Jermaine Pennant in a £6.2m transfer from Birmingham. Sources close to the Championship club claim a deal has been agreed and that the player is on his way to Anfield for talks.

Liverpool have been trailing the former Arsenal youngster for several weeks, but had Seville's Brazilian midfielder Daniel Alves as their No 1 target. But the Spanish club are insisting on a £12m deal and the Liverpool manager, Rafael Benitez, considers that too high a price since the fee would wipe out his entire summer transfer budget.

Benitez claimed on Monday that there "could be another two players in by the weekend", and his first target was clearly Pennant. Birmingham confirmed that they had turned down one bid of £3.5m from the Anfield club, and the Blues manager, Steve Bruce, suggested that he wanted £8m because of the 25 per cent sell-on clause in the deal when he signed the player from Arsenal for £3m a year ago.

The clubs are now believed to have agreed a £6.2m deal, leaving Benitez with funds to bring in another striker. That could be Feyenoord's Dirk Kuyt, but again they will have to try to negotiate down the Dutch club's £12m asking price.

Liverpool have tried one player-cash approach, thought to involve Jan Kromkamp and Jerzy Dudek in part-exchange, which was rejected. But if the deal for Pennant goes through, it will solve a year-long problem for Benitez, who has tried to sign a right-sided attacker for the past three transfer windows.

Bruce could use the money from a Pennant deal to finance another bid for Gary McSheffrey. Birmingham have had two offers rejected for Coventry's leading scorer last season, but Bruce needs a new striker to supplement D J Campbell, Mikael Forssell and Cameron Jerome, particularly after the sale of Emile Heskey to Wigan for £5.5m.