Thursday, December 30, 2010

Liverpool's top priority in January?

Liverpool haven't given up hope of Rafa Benitez returning to Anfield - but the Spaniard is said to be keeping a close eye on the manager job at Chelsea, if we are to believe The Daily Mail.

At the same time Roy Hodgson is the William Hill favourite to be the next Premier League managerial casualty following the Reds' latest defeat. It gives  an abysmal first half of the season, with the lowest tally at this stage of the season since 1953/54, when Don Welsh’s side was relegated.

Former Liverpool striker John Aldridge however has stated that he doesn’t want Kenny Dalglish to become manager of Liverpool again..

But who is to save Liverpool in the second half of the season??
Goal.com claims Aston Villa’s Ashley Young has become Liverpool’s top priority to sign in the winter transfer window. The proposed deal should cost the Merseysiders around £14m in fees, plus an alleged £75,000 per week in wages.

The 25 year old Englishman currently earns £65,000 weekly, and had refused to extend his contract with Villa Park which leads to the belief the club will be willing to sell him now to get some value on his contract that extends until the summer of 2012.

Former Liverpool and current Villa manager Gerard Houllier suggests it would take crazy money for him to sell, but club owner Randy Lerner hints the value of the player would go down as he continues to refuse to sign a new deal, thus cash now is the best option for the club.

Villa had been offered £20m by Tottenham for Young’s services last summer, but the club declined, and another delay would see his value taking another steep plunge.

Liverpool are also ready to sign winger Sylvain Marveaux from Rennes in an attempt to bring in some authentic wide men to the squad.

According to Liverpool Daily Post Damien Comolli appears set to make his first major signing since becoming director of football strategy at Anfield.

The paper claims the winger was in the crowd for the Wolves game and is thought ready to join Liverpool during the January transfer window if a fee can be agreed between the two clubs for the 24-year-old.

Another exciting player that is back on the radar is Milan’s Ronaldinho.

He is now being offered around to English clubs, including Liverpool, according to the Daily Mail.

The 30 year old is wanted by a number of Brazilian clubs including Gremio, Flamengo and Palmeiras but none of them can afford Milan’s asking price of £7million. As a result, Milan have resorted to offering the former World Player of the Year around Europe. Ronaldinho’s brother and agent Roberto de Assis has stated a move to another European club is still a possibility:

- There are many Brazilian clubs interested in Ronaldinho, but I won’t rule out a European move. It seems clear his time with the Rossoneri is at an end, he said.

Milan coach Massimo Allegri has not started Ronaldinho in the league since October and the player is out of contract in the summer.

Milan want to cash in on the player in January as they don’t want to lose him for nothing when his contract expires after paying £15million to Barcelona for the Brazilian three years ago. It is questionable whether Ronaldinho’s wages could be matched by all but the biggest clubs.

ELF Voetbal in Holland are reporting that Hamburg winger Eljero Elia’s representatives believe a move could be on the cards to Liverpool in the January transfer window. According to the report, they believe the move hinges on the Reds selling Ryan Babel.


Elia has been a long term target for Liverpool since his days at FC Twente, and despite Steve McClaren’s Wolfsburg seemingly favourites to land Elia, interest from the Reds has meant that the race for the Dutch international’s signature has become more open.

With a loan bid rejected by the Reds for Babel from Birmingham earlier this week, it remains uncertain whether the Hamburg star will get the opportunity to move to Anfield.

A name that keeps on being mentioned for the January transfer window is West Ham striker Carlton Cole.

Roy Hodgson confirmed watching and holding discussions about the seven-time England striker earlier this year and it is claimed that if the club's new owners New England Sports Ventures are willing to offer around £7 million then a deal could be reached to take the 27-year-old to Anfield, Sky Sports reports.

If the transfer was to be completed, it would likely prove as popular as the capture of maligned Paul Konchesky with Reds supporters, however it wouldn't be a huge shock if a move paid off.

Peter Crouch was a surprise hit after his unexpected arrival on Merseyside in 2005 despite a slow start and Hodgson also worked wonders on the last forward he signed from West Ham, the much-mocked Bobby Zamora.

Cole has endured a disappointing season so far though, scoring only five times - twice in the 3-1 win at Fulham on Boxing Day - and has at times struggled to hold down a place in the Irons team as they battle relegation, so a switch to Liverpool would baffle many observers.

According to Live4Liverpool Spanish radio station RAC-1 is reporting that both Liverpool and Chelsea are tracking Barcelona starlet Gerard Deulofeu.

The 16 year old has yet to turn professional at Barca and the youngster has offers from several English clubs including Liverpool, as well as from Real Madrid.

Deulofeu is a skilful winger and is said to have a bright future in the game. He is represented by Gines Carvajal who has close ties with both Liverpool and Real Madrid after dealing with both sides in transfer deals before.

RAC-1 however suggests that Carvajal would prefer Deulofeu to move to Madrid but it will be up to the player where he moves to.

Today's last roumour is that Liverpool target Gokhan Inler is set to leave Udinese - potentially in January.

The 26-year-old Swiss international holding midfielder has been monitored by a number of clubs after several consistent seasons in Serie 'A', and Liverpool boss Roy Hodgson is thought to be one of the parties monitoring the player.

- Gokhan will certainly change club in June, but it is not out of the question that it could happen in January. The lad has many offers from Spain and England, said his agent Dino Lamberti, according to GiveMeFootball.

Italian clubs are also thought to be keen on the player, but Liverpool have highlighted the player as a starter following the disappointing impact made by Christian Poulsen at Anfield.

The Italian side are thought to have valued the player in the region of €8.5 million, although Liverpool would certainly face stiff competition from a number of clubs if they wish to secure the player's signature in January.

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