by account deleted by request » Sun Dec 24, 2006 9:24 am
24 December 2006
RAFA £25M BID FOR VILLA
EXCLUSIVE Liverpool set to land striker and sell Crouch
By Alan Nixon
ANFIELD boss Rafa Benitez will make a £25million bid for Valencia's Spanish super striker David Villa - and sell Peter Crouch if he gets him.
Benitez plans to splash out the cash on Villa - either in this window or next summer - and use the cash he is about to collect from the Dubai takeover at Liverpool.
Villa has been Benitez's target for over a year, but now he is about to have the money to tempt him to Anfield and would love him next month. An offer is imminent. Valencia - Benitez's old club - have a £100m buy-out clause in Villa's contract. But that is a fantasy figure and a realistic offer of £25m would get him.
Benitez has been a fan of Villa since he was at Real Zaragoza and tried for him before.
But now with the Arab gold coming, it is a different ball game. The only other snag is that Villa has already played in Europe and would not be eligible for the Champions League, but that does not worry Benitez who wants him sooner rather than later.
The smart money is on Villa going to Liverpool at the end of the season, but the Merseysiders are going to try to bring that date forward ... and know they have buyers for fellow striker Crouch
A deal for Villa will be attempted over the next few weeks and, if it goes through, then England star Crouch's stay on Merseyside could well be over.
Newcastle United have £7m put aside to bid for him.
The Geordies have been discouraged so far and are drawing up alternative plans in case they do not get their man.