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.

Five players linked

Roy Hodgson has today again stressed he will be looking to improve his defence and attack during the January transfer window.  

- Where we are badly off is if something goes badly wrong at the back, where we don't have a lot of players to cover. Up front if Fernando or David Ngog are not able to play we don't have options in terms of out-and-out centre-forwards, he says to Sky Sports.

And maybe Damien Comolli can help Hodgson fulfill his needs...?

Todays round in the transfer rumour mill starts with earlier linked winger Dimitri Payet.

Comolli is impressed and suggest he is better than Modric. He had plenty of time to observe Payet in his former role as director of sport at the Stade Geoffroy-Guichard, and is also familiar with Spurs midfielder Modric, having spent three years as director of football at White Hart Lane.

- On a natural class level, Dimitri is stronger than a player like Modric, (who) I saw very closely at Tottenham," Comolli told France Football, Sky Sports reports.

The in-demand England defender has been tracked by Manchester United, Arsenal, Liverpool and Tottenham over the last 12 months and Bolton chairman Phil Gartside admits he can no longer resist an offer.

The Daily Mail today links Liverpool with Bolton defender Gary Cahill.

Wanderers are ready to cash in on their star defender after revealing their debts had risen to £93million. 

Bolton also admited they may also have to sell in-form Swedish striker Johan Elmander when the transfer window reopens in January.

The Sweden striker, who was signed for £8.2m from Toulouse in 2008, is out of contract in the summer and at risk of walking out for nothing. Both Spartak Moscow and Fenerbahce are interested in the 29-year-old.

- If a Champions League team knocks on our door in January that’s the best time to sell an asset because Champions League teams will pay the money, a spokesman at the club said to Bloomberg, rating Cahill at about £15m.

  - He’s out of contract at the end of this season and again if someone knocks on the door in January then that’s obviously a consideration we have to make.

Another striker is on the radar as well. Liverpool has made an offer for Zenit St Petersburg striker Alexandr Kerzhakov The Daily Mail claims.

The Russia international, however, is unsure about moving to Anfield.

- The talk about Liverpool is not baseless. The British club came to my agent with a proposal. I answered… I didn't answer at all, the player told the Rossiyskaya Gazeta.

- I have other things to think about and in all respects I am happy in Russia. My team is in first place in the national championship and I have always said that I wanted to play for Zenit.

- In the case of Liverpool I will not take the initiative, but I can count the fingers on one hand for the amount of clubs I could theoretically go to. This is because Zenit is playing beautiful, modern football and the club is growing rapidly. And I am here, at home.

Another striker being linked, is the Brazilian born striker Givanildo Vieira de Souza, otherwise known as “Hulk”.

He has become highly desired by many clubs all over Europe. He has made a stunning start to the season, hitting ten goals in nine league starts including two in the 5-0 demolition of title rivals Benfica on Sunday.

Manchester City scouts have been watching the 24 year-old and rumours suggest they will be making a bid when the transfer window opens in January. His strength, pace and powerful shots will definitely suit the physical style of the premier league and according to FootballTransferTavern clubs like Liverpool and Tottenham are also keeping tabs on him.

Kranjcar back on the radar

Niko Kranjcar.

Roy Hodgson has repeated Liverpools need to strengthen the squad in the January Transfer window. And after a quiet transfer weekend there are more names on the rumour mill today.

Previously linked midfielder Niko Kranjcar is back on the radar.

Now he has admitted he may have to leave Tottenham and White Hart Lane if he continues to play a peripheral role for the North London Premier League club.

According to The Daily Mail his father has suggested he would relish the chance to play for Liverpool.

Aston Villa and Newcastle United are also interested in the Croatian international but although it appears the player has plenty of Premier League suitors, he admits in an ideal world he would remain at Spurs.

- I feel great at Tottenham, so if I could play regularly for my team, then my first option would be to stay at White Hart Lane. But if I don’t play much, then I will have to look for other solutions. Nobody wants to be a reserve and that goes for me too, he told the paper.

His father saying: - Niko would like to stay in London, but he is also ready to leave England if he could move to Serie A. Liverpool is a club which would interest him, but then again, why not Italy?

In addition, it also pops up a few new names today.

Matt Jarvis.

According to AnfieldTalk Roy Hodgson reportedly has an interest for Wolves highly rated winger Matt Jarvis.

The former Gillingham man has been in excellent form over the past 18 months and some sources believe that Jarvis may be about to be considered for an England call up, it is suggested.

The player is valued in the £8-10m bracket, and Jarvis would fit the bill when it comes to bringing in younger talents.

Urby Emanuelson.

Another new name is Ajax winger Urby Emanuelson.

There appears to be little doubt about it that the versatile winger is on his way out of Ajax after clubs from England, Germany, Italy, Portugal and Spain have shown an interest in signing the Dutch international.

According to a report in De Telegraaf Liverpool and Juventus are just two of the clubs that are closely monitoring the situation of the 24-year-old Emanuelson, but they're facing stiff competition in the race for the versatile player's services, Goal.com reports.

- There are plenty of interest clubs. I won't confirm or deny any names though. However, I've told interested teams that Urby won't leave Ajax during the winter transfer window, his agent was quoted as saying.

Dimitri Payet.

Another player who has been on the radar recently is St Etienne's Dimitri Payet.

Today the club have rejected claims that the young midfielder could be on his way to Liverpool in January.

St Etienne insist they have no plans to part with any of their players midway through the season and instead will be looking to bolster their squad.

- Liverpool have not contacted us, St Etienne co-president Roland Romeyer told France Football, SportingLife reports.

The French and Spanish connections

The day after owner John W. Henry says he wants more squad depth, and the day before Liverpool is facing this Premier League seasons biggest test so far, Damien Comolli is hoping to make an early impact.

The Daily Mail today reports that Liverpool wants to sign midfield prospect Dimitri Payet from under the noses of three other bidders.

Anfield's newly-appointed director of football strategy believes his St Etienne connections could give him a decisive edge over Napoli, Inter Milan and Aston Villa in the £7million battle to sign 23-year old Payet who was watched by Liverpool manager Roy Hodgson in September.

Payet is an attacking midfielder or winger and on the verge of breaking into the senior France side after catching Laurent Blanc's eye with seven goals in as many games this season. 

It has also put him in the frame for a January move to England or Italy, with Comolli, the former director of football at Tottenham and credited with unearthing some top youngsters, poised to win the race.

Partizan Belgrade star Cleo reportedly is linked with a move to Liverpool.

But according to Sky Sports the player admits he is in the dark about reports linking him with a move to Liverpool.

Reports have suggested the Reds are considering a move for the Brazilian striker as they bolster their attacking options in the January transfer window.

However, Cleo, who has scored against Arsenal in this season's Champions League, is not reading too much into the speculation.

- Liverpool? I heard something about this story... Well, I actually read about it on the internet. But nobody has talked with me about this. But of course in football you never know what tomorrow will bring to you, Cleo says Sky Sports reports.

Another exciting rumour that turns up is that Valencias Juan Mata is on top of Roy Hodgsons shopping list for January.

The Liverpool boss has already stated his intentions to sign 5 or 6 players and has the backing of the club’s new owners as he seeks to reverse the poor start to the season.

Mata left Real Madrid to join Valencia in March 2007 and initially found it hard to secure a regular first team spot but in the absence of the club’s two big name Spanish internationals he has hit a run of good form this season which has led many clubs to consider a move for the pint sized attacker.

Hodgson hopes to persuade Mata to join his national team colleagues Fernando Torres and Pepe Reina at Anfield and knows that he will have to dig deep to secure the £17m rated international, Caughtoffside writes.

The Liverpool manager is looking to add more creativity to his attacking third after finding goals hard to come by this season.

Juan Mata can play in a number of positions from an out and out striker to his more preferred position out wide on the left wing where he could help provide ammunition for the Merseyside club.

Another old rumour that resurface is about Lassana Diarra.

He is reportedly closer to a Real Madrid exit after appearing to be frozen out at the Bernabeu.

The French international's last action for Los Blancos came as a substitute against AC Milan a fortnight ago, and Diarra was left out of the squad completely for the return fixture in the Champions League on Wednesday, GiveMeFootball reports.

His brief cameo appearance suggests the player has fallen further down the pecking order under Jose Mourinho, and Liverpool boss Roy Hodgson is reportedly preparing to swoop for the player.

A player with Premier League experience after time with Chelsea, Arsenal and Portsmouth, Real Madrid signed the player in 2009 for a fee in the region of £20m.

After just over a year, the asking price is now thought to be half with the La Liga side looking to sell after more 'mega-deals' this summer.

Happy days!

So I'm back, and this time in English only. The Murphys Liverpool-blog has been around since february 2007. 

The last few months I've had a break. It's been busy for me, moving and getting married! But now I'll be back bringing you the best headlines from around the web about Liverpool FC! 

I will continue to have emphasis on rumors and speculation about the purchase of players and the ownership situastion.

It's been an eventful period for the club since thel last time I blogged. It seems the days of Hicks & Gillett may be numbered - and what a relief! The prospective new owners - it seems to me - are a very much better solution than the texans. 

John W. Henry, principal owner and Thomas C. Werner, chairman of New England Sports Ventures (NESV) are about to start a new reign for the Anfield outfit. And the news of them being given a personal tour of Arsenal's Emirates stadium in a bid to learn about the sustainable financial model, is a very positive thing! 

The Arsenal model of running a Premier League club has shown, in a convincing way, that it is good for stabilizing the economy. And that is truly something Liverpool is in big need of.

Sport.co.uk writes: NESV, owners of MLB franchise Boston Red Sox, were shown around the Gunners new arena and state-of-the-art London Colney training ground three weeks ago by chief executive Ivan Gazidis as they weighed up their bid for Premier League rivals Liverpool.

There is only one stumbling block left before Liverpool has the new owners installed. The Premier League today gave the go-ahead for New England Sports Ventures to complete a takeover of the club.

Acording to The Guardian this means only the high court action by the current owners Tom Hicks and George Gillett stands in the way of the £300m deal by the American company, owners of the Boston Red Sox, going through. 

But - and there still is one but - Liverpool could still come under administration, with the Royal Bank of Scotland's deadline for the repayment of £237 million looming on October 15. But that is far more better than Tom Hicks hanging on to the ownership.

- It could happen, yes. This is all part of why it is important that we made the decision on Tuesday to accept one or the other of the two very acceptable bids. Heading for administration was a very likely outcome if we didn't, Liverpool chairman Martin Broughton told ESPN Soccernet.

But to me it seems Broughton has won the most important battles of them all - getting rid of Hicks & Gillett, one way or another. 

Thank you mr. Broughton!

Some of the latest player speculations: 

Liverpool have joined the race to sign Bayer Leverkusen striker Stefan Kiessling: Liverpool to rival Fulham for German strike ace

Liverpool are preparing a move for Mainz star Lewis Holtby in January: Liverpool to make winter move for £9m Everton fan

Roy Hodgson seems to be interested in Stoke City centre-back Ryan Shawcross with a potential £10 million move to Anfield: Roy Hodgson targets £10m Ryan Shawcross 

More: Ryan Shawcross 'on Liverpool's transfer wish list'  

Liverpool is linked with St Etienne’s Dimitri Payet: A winger that could be the answer to Roy’s prayers? 

Liverpool chasing danish players Emil Larsen, Kim Aabech and Lasse Rise? Liverpool Prepare to Make Move for £12m Trio of Nobodies? 

Is Milan Jovanovic about to leave Liverpool FC in january? Jovanovic hints at Reds exit 

Liverpool have joined the race for the signature of highly rated Wolfsburg striker Edin Dzeko: Liverpool In Chase For Bundesliga Hitman As Hodgson Lines Up Replacement   

More: £30M Dzeko Key to Liverpool & Manchester City Transfer Plans