World Cup star newcomer on the Liverpool transfer radar

Today's rumour mill consists mainly of old rumours growing stronger or weaker. But there is also one new name coming through to the radar...

Apparently Liverpool are leading the race for Werder Bremen’s World Cup star Per Mertesacker.

The 26 year-old centre-back, is now on the Kop radar after director of football Damien Comolli made a ­personal check on him before Christmas. Bremen are ­prepared to sell the 26-year-old following their exit from the Champions League – but have told any interested clubs that the bidding will start at £10m, The Mirror claims.

Comolli watched ­Mertesacker in action as ­Werder suffered a 2-1 home defeat to Kaiserslautern on December 18 in their final Bundesliga game before the German winter break.

He recommended Liverpool should make a move for the Germany international.

But Liverpool are also keen to balance their books by ­shipping out a central ­defender to make way for the highly-rated German. They will look to cash in on Daniel Agger before they make a move for Mertesacker.

Agger is being touted around ­Europe after being told he can leave Anfield following his fall from grace under manager Roy Hodgson. (Daily Mirror)

More: 10 things you need to know about Per Mertesacker

The Mirror also reports that Liverpool are ready to bankroll bids for Stoke City’s Ryan Shawcross and Aston Villa’s Ashley Young.

Comolli has lined up a bid for Young, fighting Manchester United in the £15million race, while he and Hodgson watched centre-half Shawcross in action last week. But United could also mess up that deal – they have the first option on Shawcross, a former reserve at Old Trafford.

The Anfield regime are looking to invest in the best young British players. Top target is England Under-21 striker Daniel Sturridge, who has told Chelsea he wants to go to Liverpool on loan after making just two league starts in two seasons at Stamford Bridge.

Young’s camp know that Liverpool want him even if Hodgson goes so that deal could go through despite any possible managerial upheaval in the next few weeks.

One rumour that is being renewed is that Roy Hodgson is keen on signing Arsenal striker Nicklas Bendtner.

The Danish international has been linked with a host of clubs as reports suggest that he may look for a move due to a lack of first team opportunities at the Emirates, claims Caughtoffside.

The powerfully built 22 year old received his first Premier League of the season a few days ago and he went on to score a goal in the game at Wigan. The likes of Lazio and Fulham have both reportedly made enquiries about signing the big striker and Arsene Wenger may well consider offers for Bendtner given that he is low down in the Arsenal pecking order.

Valued at around £8m Nicklas Bendtner is in his fourth season in the first team picture and is no nearer to getting regular first team football and may well be tempted by a move to Merseyside.

Another familiar name that again apparently is relevant on the radar is highly rated and versatile midfielder Keisuke Honda.

It is believed that the Japanese star had agreed a verbal agreement with the club during the latter stages of December and will finalise a move to Anfield within the January transfer window, KopSource claims.

Despite Honda being one of CSKA Moscow’s most consistent players this season, reports suggest that the 24-year-old has not taken to life in Russia after a £6M move to the club last January.

And Damien Comolli looks set to pounce upon the players situation after being impressed with the Blue Samuri’s performances and abilities.

The fee reported, believed to be around £15m, would be a snip for a player of his calibre; not to mention the revenue that would be made from shirt sales in the very lucrative Far East market. It has been said that Honda is the number one most recognisable footballer – pushing Brand Beckham into number two.

Liverpool would have to sell between 300,000 (£13.5M) and 400,000 (£18M) LFC Jerseys in Japan for Honda’s transfer fee to pay itself. And with Japan having a population of 127 million, the figures look very achievable.

Liverpool and Birmingham City are keeping tabs on Watford's teenage striker Marvin Sordell, The People Report.

The 19-year-old has came through the ranks at Vicarage Road, scoring nine goals this season - including against Portsmouth yesterday - and has caught the eye of top-flight clubs including Brum and Liverpool.

Sordell was sent out on loan to Tranmere last season to gain first-team experience and made flying to start to this campaign after being given a chance by Hornets boss Malky Mackay.

Liverpool linked with big signings

It's only a few days left of the year, and the opening of this winters Silly Season. 

Now Liverpool is linked with two major signings in January...

The Sunday Telegraph say Liverpool are trying to put a deal together to sign reported Manchester City transfer target Edin Dzeko.

But the Reds will have concerns of being outbid by Manchester City for the Bosnia international.

Wolfsburg had hoped to keep Dzeko until the summer but after a poor start to the season under Steve McClaren - they are 13th in the Bundesliga and out of the cup - they are prepared to let their star player go.

Wolfsburg, who won the title in 2009 with Dzeko as top scorer, are open to Liverpool's suggestion of taking players in part-exchange, with Ryan Babel and Daniel Agger the German club's preferred options.

A less likely transfer to go through is being speculated on the Vital Liverpool Blog.

The blogger writes abot two photos posted on Twitpic and Yfrog, with old team mates Kun Aguero and Maxi Rodriguez, saying "Am I the only one who's thinking this really isn't that unlikely?"

Earlier in the week on his twitter feed Kun Aguero posted the two photos of him in Liverpool with his friend and current reds player Maxi Rodriguez.

Further on the blogger say there is many reasons Aguero would want to leave Atletico Madrid who won last season's Europa League to join a Liverpool team that's struggling a lot on the pitch.

But there are previous quotes from the Argentine that could put us on other thoughts...

In an interview with German TZ newspaper Aguero was quoted as saying: "If I had to choose a league then it would be the Premier League, I have been a Liverpool fan for as long as I can remember and it would be a dream to play there. I watched the Champions League final and celebrated every goal as if it was for Independiente," Aguero said.

An argument could be that Liverpool wouldn't be able to afford a player of his calibre; the again John Henry has recently spent $187m on two players for his Red Sox baseball team and Damien Comolli has sayd "If there's a possibility of us getting a world-class player, we will have the backing"...

Finaly, Liverpool are plotting a move for Inter Milan midfielder Sulley Muntari, according to Caughtoffside.

The Ghana international appears to be surplus to requirements at the San Siro and the Anfield boss is keen to bring the former Portsmouth man back to the Premier League to help the Merseyside club in their fight to save their season.

Muntari has started just one Serie A match this season and has been linked with a move away from the treble winners and the 26 year old may well be keen on a move back to England where arguably he has played the best football of his career.

Inter Milan paid Pompey £12.7m for Muntari in July 2008 but would reportedly accept around £10m for his services, a fee that Liverpool would surely be able to stump up thanks to the promised investment in new signings made by new owners NESV...

Ashley Young back on the radar

Today three of Liverpool first team players has been linked with a move away from Merseyside. 

According to The Daily Mail Juventus are lining up a triple raid with approach for Alberto Aquilani, Glen Johnson and Daniel Agger.

An earlier strongly linked player however is back on the radar...

Todays biggest transfer rumour is regarding Ashley Young who Liverpool are hoping to bring in during the January transfer window, if you believe a report in The Mirror today.

Hodgson and transfer negotiator Damien Comolli are working on the ambitious project and hope to seal a deal worth £15m for the England winger in January, the paper say.

Villa will want a big fee for Young but Liverpool sources are quietly confident they can come to an agreement on price, especially if the player indicates that he fancies the move.

Also sources on the Koptalk Insider say there is contact with the player.

 

- His (Young) agent was in regular contact with Christian [Purslow] and Damien [Comolli] believes he could be snapped up for much less than Aston Villa are asking. Continuation here is the key. But I would expect a formal offer will go in very soon if nothing has changed since they last spoke, the Koptalk source said.

The most exciting rumour of this week seems not to go through. Ronaldinho has gone out playing down the talk of a rumoured move to Liverpool.

It was reported earlier in the week in the Italian press that the out-of-favour striker was seeking a move to pastures new with Roy Hodgson one of a number of potential suitors.

Nevertheless, despite playing second fiddle to compatriots Pato, Robinho and Swedish hitman Zlatan Ibrahimovic, the 30-year-old insists that the Rossoneri’s Serie A table-topping form was reason enough for him to focus on life under Massimiliano Allegri, Sport.co.uk reports

Speaking to the press after Milan’s 2-0 home defeat to Ajax last night, Ronaldinho was coy on the transfer rumours:

- I am tranquil in terms of staying. It's an important season and we are top of Serie A for the first time since my arrival here.

- I want to put Allegri in difficulty when he plays me. It was not easy against Ajax as I was playing as a striker, but I was better in the second half.

Yesterday it was reported that Marseille have been trying to finalise a deal to sign Rennes full-back Rod Fanni, who also have been linked with Liverpool.

Sky Sports now report that Marseille chairman Jean-Claude Dassier has confirmed they are set to step up their interest.

It is thought the Mediterranean outfit would have to pay about €4million (£3.36m) to sign Fanni, who is under contract with Rennes until June 2012.
Talks

And the two clubs seem to have reached an agreement as Marseille are preparing to begin negotiations over personal terms with the former Lens and Nice player.

Liverpool linked Connor Wickham will not come cheaply. Ipswich boss Roy Keane has warned Liverpool they will have to offer big money, after comparing the teenager to Wayne Rooney.

Wickham, 17, is the Tractor Boys' youngest-ever player and a target for the Reds, who are ready to swoop in January, as well as Premier League rivals Arsenal and Tottenham.

Keane said:

- There aren't many Connor Wickhams around. You've got to be careful not to get blasé about Connor and say "we'll take £7m or £8m for him", The Daily Mail reports.

- I have a certain figure in my head that we'd have to consider. I think Connor and his agent would have that as well.

- Whether that's Tottenham or Liverpool or whoever, but United had to buy Rooney for £28m when he was 18.

According to Live4Liverpool German newspaper BILD is reporting that PSV striker Ola Toivonen is not ready to leave the Dutch club in January.

The Swedish international has been linked with Liverpool in recent months.

BILD reports that despite also being linked with Steve McClaren’s Wolfsburg, Toivonen is willing to remain at PSV for the rest of the season, ruling out a move to the Reds as the Merseyside club look to bolster their frontline in the January transfer window.

Both manager Roy Hodgson and assistant Sammy Lee have been said to have made personal checks on Toivonen this season with Roy confirming that the 24 year old came under consideration in August.

American Clint Dempsey, linked with Liverpool and Wolfsburg, has dismissed speculation with a switch from Fulham.

Steve McClaren's Wolfsburg are not having the best of runs in the Bundesliga and are also thought to be trailing the Texan.

However, Dempsey's agent Lyle Yorks claims the mooted interest from these two clubs is mere speculation, although he did reveal a number of sides are trailing the Cottagers star.

- Some of it is just reports and some of it is accurate, Yorks told MLSsoccer.com.

- There's interest in Clint, but there are no discussions right now.

On the Liverpool and Wolfsburg links, he added:

- These two are just reports at this point.

Also today a new name appears on the Liverpool transfer radar.

Roy Hodgson is said to be closely following the movements of FC Twente’s Theo Janssen according to Metro.

The midfielder is known as a free-kick specialist with an amazing left foot. He was propelled into the limelight this season with some impressive displays against Tottenham in the Champions League.

The 29-year-old is reported to have been on Hodgson’s radar for the past four months, and has a £3m release clause in his contract. However, the release clause does not come into effect until the summer.

- Nobody has spoken to me and if they did, FC Twente can ask what it wants for him, said club president, Joop Munsterman.

The effect of the clause could obviously force Hodgson to pay over the odds to get his man early in January. However, with the clause looming and without a contract renewal, it could force Twente to accept as little as £5million in the new year.

Scottish champions Rangers have also expressed an interest in the player, but should Liverpool make a move they would surely be favorites to land the Dutchman’s signature.

Comolli's £80m wish list

With Gerard Houllier coming to Anfield monday talent-spotter Damien Comolli seems to have a desire to re-start the Liverpool French revolution.

On top of his wish list for January there are four Frenchmen.

Comolli, the new director of football strategy charged with helping boss Roy Hodgson ­recruit new stars, has been assembling a hit-list of transfer targets for the January window and next summer – with four Frenchmen on the radar.

Related reading: Liverpool pondering big moves? 
Related: Transfer targets video compilation

And heading the wish list of French stars are four of Laurent Blanc’s side who outplayed England in their 2-1 friendly win at Wembley last month.

Yann M’Vila, Rennes’ 20-year-old midfielder, Marseilles striker Loic Remy – 24 next month – Lille centre-back Adil Rami, 25 later this month, and St Etienne attacking midfielder Dimitri Payet, 23, have all been identified by Comolli as viable targets, The People reports.

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And with Lille’s exciting ­£20million Belgian winger Eden Hazard plus Borussia Dortmund’s £15m-rated Serbian central ­defender Neven Subotic also a priority, all of Comolli’s targets would cost a staggering £80m.

That would be an immediate test of Kop owner John Henry’s commitment to Anfield’s future. Comolli has been told by ­Henry to nab players in their early 20s as Liverpool build for a ­brighter ­future.

But he’ll have his work cut out to land them all – especially Hazard, who is being tracked by Real Madrid.

Boss Hodgson has been told he must offload some players to raise additional transfer funds and England defender Glen Johnson, Daniel Agger, Ryan Babel and Fabio Aurelio will all be made available, the paper reports.

Pengekrana skrudd igjen

Hicks & Gillett har skrudd igjen pengekrana. Har årets sommer gjort Liverpool til et bedre lag?

Undertegnede har vært satt ut av spill en periode på grunn av et kjedelig sykehusopphold. Men slapp av - ingenting alvorlig!

Det kan virke som skaden til Daniel Agger førte til sommerens aller siste kjøp for Rafa Benitez. Mens jeg lå i sykehussengen fikk jeg vite at Benitez, i full fart, hadde vært ute og hentet grekeren Sotirios Kyrgiakos, som kan få sin debut mot Aston Villa mandag.

I det hele tatt kan det virke som Rafa Benitez' finansielle ressurser har tørket fullstendig inn. For var det egentlig dette vi hadde forventet oss denne sommeren? Hva ville skjedd om Benitez ikke hadde fått inn omkring £40m i salg, inkludert inntektene fra salget av Xabi Alonso?

I følge The Daily Mail skal nå Liverpools eiere ha satt stopp for flere kjøp denne sommeren, på grunn av sin og klubbens økonomiske situasjon. Noe som skal ha gjort Benitez svært opprørt, etter å ha blitt lovet £20m pluss det han kunne få inn fra salg. Det gikk faktisk så langt at ryktene begynte å gå om at Benitez hadde sluttet som manager. Ryktene var så sterke at Benitez personlig måtte roe ned spillerne.

Dermed ser altså fasiten slik ut etter årets Silly Season:

INN:

• Glen Johnson (ca. £18.5m, minus £10m for Crouch)
• Alberto Aquliani (£20m)
• Chris Mavinga (ukjent sum).

UT:

• Xabi Alonso (Ca. £35m)
• Alvaro Arbeloa (ukjent sum)
• Sebastian Leto (£1,3m)
• Paul Anderson (liten sum)
• Jack Hobbs (liten sum)
• Sami Hyypia (gratis)
• Astrit Ajdarevic (gratis)
• Miki Roque (kontraktsløs)
• Adam Hammill (liten sum)

Etter min mening er det totale inntrykket at Liverpool ikke har blitt en sterkere klubb etter denne sommeren - heller motsatt. Men jeg håper selvsagt at Benitez skal gjøre disse ordene til skamme.

Hva mener du?

VIDEO: Benitez presenterer Kyrgiakos.

Rekordkjøp i sommer?

Skal Rafa Benitez sette transferrekord i sommer også, med Alonso som vekslepenger?

Transferryktene er i ferd med å tilta voldsomt. Det mest foruroligende er at Benitez kan se ut til å kanskje ville ofre Xabi Alonso for å styrke transferbudsjettet.

The Daily Express melder at en av sesongens beste spillere i Liverpool-troppen kan være på vei ut for £23m. Antagelig for å bli erstattet av Gareth Barry. The Mirror skriver at Alonso er på vei til Real Madrid.

Og Daniel Agger sier at Alonso gjør en stor feil om han går fra Liverpol nå. Forsvarsspilleren skrev tidligere i vår under en ny kontrakt med klubben.

Og pengene kan Benitez trenge, i hvertfall om Sport.co.uk får rett i det de melder. De skriver at det meldes om et bud på Carlos Tevez på £50m, i konkurranse med Tottenham.

I tillegg skal Glen Johnson være toppmålet til Benitez - ved siden av Barry og Tevez.

The Daily Mail skriver at Liverpool har lagt inn et nytt bud på høyrebacken på £15m. Avisa hevder at Portsmouth fortsatt skylder Liverpool £7m etter £12m-overgangen til Peter Crouch.
Dermed kan den tidligere Chelsea-forsvareren komme til Anfield for en svært lav pris, totalt sett.

I tillegg melder The Independent at Benitez sier han kanskje vil komme til å slå fjorårets transferrekord, da Robbie Keane ble hentet fra Tottenham.

- Vi kommer kanskje til å slå transfer-rekorden vår, men ikke Manchester Uniteds rekord. Men prisen er ikke viktig, dersom vi finner de rette spillerne, sier Benitez i følge avisa.

Av mer ferske rykter melder Setanta i dag at Liverpool er interessert i det nederlandske talentet Luc Castaignos. I februar ble 16-åringen, som i dag spiller for Feyenoord, nederlandsk U17-spiller, og er følgelig et av Europas heteste overgangsobjekter.

Spissen, som drømmer om å spille i den engelske toppserien, blir sammenliknet med Thierry Henry.

VIDEO: Luc Castaignos' mål mot Tyskland U17

Adjø Sami!

Den finske midstopper-kjempen har valgt å gå videre. Takk for innsatsen!

Så kom altså beskjeden som er sørgelig, men forståelig: Sami Hyypia forlater i sommer Anfield, til fordel for Bayer Leverkusen. I følge Liverpool Echo har han signert en såkalt pre-kontrakt som binder ham til den tyske klubben i to sesonger.

Og det er egentlig ikke så rart at han velger å gjøre dette nå. 35-åringen har de siste årene blitt utkonkurrert fra første-elleveren av yngre krefter, som Daniel Agger og Martin Skrtel.

Hyypia var kanskje den beste signeringen Gerard Houllier gjorde i sin regjeringstid på Anfield, i hvert fall av defensive spillere. Han var en sterk mann som kom inn, da franskmannen skulle forsøke å rydde opp i det defensive kaoset etter Roy Evans. Noen som husker Phil Babb eller Neil "Razor" Ruddock.

Sammen med Jamie Carragher har Hyypia vært med på å spille i et av europas aller beste forsvar de ti årene han har vært i klubben.

Sami Hyypia har min største respekt og vil bli dypt savnet i Liverpool. Jeg vil ønske ham lykke til videre i sin fotballkarriere og ønske ham hjertelig velkommen tilbake, dersom det skulle være aktuelt i en annen rolle.

VIDEO: En hyllest til den finske kjempen, laget i 2004/2005-sesongen, mens han ennå var et førstevalg.

Mot travel sommer?

Mot mange utskiftninger på Anfield i sommer? Hvem er på vei inn og hvem forsvinner ut?

Den siste tiden har jeg vært slapp på oppdateringer. Jada, jeg vet det. Jeg har skrevet mer eller mindre uavbrutt om laget jeg elsker i snart to og et halvt år. Men det er med blogging, som med andre hobbyer; inspirasjon og lyst kommer og går. Og så trengte jeg rett og slett en pause.

Men nå skal jeg forsøke å komme igang igjen!

For selv om det nærmer seg slutten av en svært spennende sesong for Liverpool, som dessverre ser ut til å ende med langt indre enn vi kunne håpe på, går det mot nok en høydramatisk Silly Season!

Spekulasjonene om spillerkjøp er som vanlig langt flere enn vi realistisk kan tro faktisk blir gjennomført. Men i følge Metro.co.uk blir det en travel sommer på Anfield. Nettstedet hevder at det fortsatt er Gareth Barry som er Benitez' hovedmål og at det også er interesse for Carlos Tevez.

Men Benitez vil ikke ha ubegrenset med penger og må gjøre noen valg. Dersom Tevez skal bli Robbie Keanes erstatter, kan det bli på bekostning av et annet transfermål: Middlesbrough-vingen Stewart Downing. Dersom Boro rykker ned vil det imidlertid trolig bli store utskiftninger på Riverside.

I tillegg meldes det at Anfield-hierarkiet trolig må se seg om etter en erstatter for Daniel Agger, som ikke vil fornye sin kontrakt. Det skal være stor sannsynlighet for at han forsvinner til enten Milan, Inter eller Juventus.

Dersom Agger forsvinner kan imidlertid en annen være danske på vei inn, i og med at Simon Kjær sier han ønsker seg til enten Liverpool eller Manchester United. Dansken har skrevet ny kontrakt med sin klubb Palermo, men i følge Footylatest.com er det stor sannsynlighet for at han vil til en annen liga.

- En dag står jeg kanskje med muligheten for å velge mellom å spille for Liverpool og Manchester United. Dersom United kun hadde to forsvarsspillere og bruk for en tredje, mens Liverpool hadde Agger, Carragher og Skrtel, ville jeg uten tvil velge Manchester United, sier Simon Kjær til Tipsbladet.dk.

- Man kan ikke velge med hjertet i slik situasjon. Jeg er profesjonell, sier den unge dansken.

Av andre alternativer for spillere på vei inn, spekuleres det for tiden villt i en rekke navn. Et av disse er den makedonske spissen Goran Pandev, som også tidligere er blitt satt i sammenheng med en overgang til England og Merseyside.

Nå skal han i følge FansFC at seks av åtte kvartfinale-lag fra denne sesongs Champions League er interessert i hans signatur. Og ett av disse lagene var som kjent Liverpool.

Forøvrig skal Liverpool sammen med Celtic være interessert i den spanske midtbanespilleren Jordi Gomez, som for tiden er på utlån hos Swansea City fra Espanyol. Der skal 23-åringen ha gjort en god jobb og har scoret 12 mål på 41 kamper; noe som har gjort Benitez interessert i spilleren.

Gomez er blitt plukket ut på PFA Championship Team of the Year, og kan komme for så lite som £2m.

Ellers kan det se ut til at vår gamle spiss, Fernando Morientes, som aldri fikk det helt til på Anfield, skal få ny klubb i sommer. Footylatest skriver at han kan komme til å havne hos AC Milan på en free transfer.