Two winger options for the summer?

In the summer it is highly likely Liverpool will look for options on the wings. Especially with Caroll's presence in the middle, and his height, the passes from  the sides will be crucial.

Right now the two most likely options seems to be Ashley Young on the right and Sylvain Marveaux for the left.

The Aston Villa winger however has other suitors aswell. Manchester United will return for the Villa winger after having a £15m bid rejected last month, The Mirror reports today.

Young has been linked with a transfer to Liverpool for a long time, starting last summer, but “We had an interest in one player and I thought we had a chance of bringing him in, but the other parties involved were not ready and so we have put it away until the summer”, Ferguson told the paper.

Youngs contract runs out in 2012 and he is balking at signing a new deal.

Marveaux was heavily linked with a move to Merseyside in the January window, and his name keeps on being mentioned for the future.

The prospect of signing one of the most exciting talents on a Bosman alerted a lot of clubs including Liverpool, Chelsea and Newcastle.

However, Marveaux was believed to be preferring a move to Anfield. His attendance at Anfield for the match against Wolves in the beginning of January had led most people to believe that he is set to sign on the dotted line for Liverpool, according to The Bleacher Report.

Reports are emerging that Damien Comolli has just concluded talks and a pre-contract for Marveaux joining Liverpool in July has been agreed upon, they claim.

Chelsea boss Carlo Ancelotti also was rumoured to be lining up the Rennes winger Sylvain Marveaux to replace Florent Malouda next season.


The 24 year-old is currently injured, but his great record of 10 goals from the wing for Rennes last seaso.

It is believed that, despite signing Marveaux, Liverpool would go for Ashley Young in the summer along with signings in defense (especially a left-back) and a central midfielder.

First summer transfer secured?

A report claims Liverpool's first summer signing may already be secured...

According to the FootballTransferTavern, Liverpool appear to have won the race to sign Sylvain Marveaux after Comolli reached a successful ending to talks over the weekend.

The Frenchman is available on a free after his current contract is due to expire with his current club Rennes. He will become a Liverpool player come July 1st.

Marveaux was widely tipped to make the transfer in January, but nothing happened.

The transfer will represent quite a coup for Comolli and Liverpool as they managed to fight off a number of top Premiership and European clubs for his signature. Chelsea, Manchester United and Arsenal have all had the player watched in the past but it is believed Liverpool is the players preferred destination.

The international can play in a number of positions including left back and through the middle of midfield but it is on the left wing where the player feels most comfortable. It is hoped the 24 yr old can provide the width Liverpool so desperately need, quick and a good crosser of the ball, he is seen as an ideal threat to assist Suarez and Carroll.

Dutch sensation already a done deal?

The recent rumors and reports has said that there is only one player who seems to be ready for a Liverpool transfer this January window.  

A Daily Mail article stated that a deal for Rennes winger Sylvain Marveaux allready is in place.

But now it seems another young, talented player is on his way to Anfield in January...

The FootballTransferTavern says that a deal for 21-year-old Dutch sensation, Ricky van Wolfswinkel "is apparently already a done-deal". 

He has already hit 11 goals in 17 starts for FC Utrecht this season and according to the report he will cost around £8m.

The site also makes a statement to the official LFC site from Roy Hodgson to be about the player.

- As I’ve said to the supporters many times, it’s important that we don’t just get bodies and numbers. We need people who are going to be very good for the long-term future of the club, or players who are definitely going to make a big difference to us in terms of what we’re going to do in the beginning of 2011, Hodgson said.

It remains to see just how much time Hodgson has left as manager of Liverpool FC, but it might be that NESV is bypassing him. It might be that director of football strategy Damien Comolli be responsible for the transfers, without Hodgson really knowing he has no long term role...
 
The Transfer Tavern also states that Hodgson has got his Fulham cap back on, and is preparing for a bidding war with his old club for Crystal Palace’s 18-year-old forward, Wilfried Zaha.

The scouts have already been deployed, and Kenny Dalglish is rumoured to have a hand in this deal, too. Palace will demand a fee of £2m for their man.

The transfer widow will certainly be a busy time at Anfield, and Hodgson has clearly made signing a striker his top priority, having also been linked with Chelsea’s Daniel Sturridge and Bolton’s Johan Elmander recently.

The next Anfield manager?

It appears to be only a matter of time before Roy Hodgson is fired as manager of Liverpool FC.

Hodgson himself says he will never quit the job, even having to aplogise to the Liverpool fans for his comments in the wake of Wednesday's desperate home defeat by Wolves. 

There even has been made a petition directed at owners Fenway Sports Group - led by John Henry and Tom Werner - calling for Hodgson to be removed immediately.
 
If I am to judge by all the rumors that abound right now, it seems the Bolton game on new years day will be make or break for him, with Kenny Dalglish looming in the wings as caretaker manager for the rest of the season.

According to The Glasgow Evening Times Hodgson has been handed a two-week ultimatum to save his job.

If we are to belive Dominic King of the Da|ily Mail Damien Comolli is responsible for identifying the next Anfield boss.

 Rafa Benitez are not under consideration to take over on a permanent basis. So who will it be? 

According to Goal.com former Barcelona manager Frank Rijkaard is the preferred option, with 20.86 per cent of the readers wotes. 

An article on Caughtoffside says Rijkaard is the man replacing Hodgson. The club’s are ready to axe the 63 year old former Fulham boss and will do so within the next 48 hours, the article states. 

But the choice is far from unanimous. In second place, 17.51% of the Goal.com readers see Guus Hiddink as the right man for the job. 

Other candidates that has been mentioned are Didier Deschamps, Manuel Pellegrini, Louis van Gaal and Martin O'Neill. 

The same Daily Mail article states that Damien Comoli may bring in as may as four players in January, with a £1.5m deal for Rennes winger Sylvain Marveaux allready in place.

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.

Swedish striker back on the radar

Speculations keeps coming on Roy Hodgsons manager future. According to FootballTransferTavern|he has got three games to save his job and turn Liverpools season around.

It seems Frank Rijkaard is the man ready to replace Hodgson.

During the summer transfer window Swedish striker Ola Toivonen was linked with a transfer to Liverpool. Now it seems the PSV player is back in the frame.

The PSV Eindhoven player scored twice as the Dutch club ran out 2-1 winners against Sampdoria in the Europa League.

His recent performances will have no doubt caught the eye of Liverpool boss Roy Hodgson as he looks to bring another striker to Anfield to take the goalscoring burden away from Fernando Torres.
- We have discussed his name, that's true, Hodgson earlier has told Sky Sports. - Like all teams, we are looking at a lot of players.
- I do know the player and think he is a good player, but can't give you any further indication.

- That doesn't mean we are going to rush in and buy him tomorrow. But he is a player who has come up, we have watched him and we know about him.

Now Liverpool are understood to be considering stepping up their interest in the £10 million-rated Sweden international in January in a bid to reinforce the striking ranks at Anfield, GiveMeFootball reports.

Liverpool have not yet made a move for reported Liverpool target Keisuke Honda, according to the player's agent.

Reports in Russia suggested that the two clubs had already begun negotiations over a possible transfer, with the Reds prepared to pay up to £8million.

But the 24-year-old's representative Kees Ploegsma insists there have been no offers for his client so far.

- To date, there is no offer for Keisuke from Liverpool, Kees Ploegsma says according to Sky Sports.

- There is nothing, these are just rumours. The situation is quiet. To date, there is no offer for Keisuke from Liverpool, nor from other teams.

- The player has a contract with CSKA Moscow [until 2013] and is now on vacation.

According to a report from France Football, Liverpool will move for Stade Rennais winger Sylvain Marveaux in the coming weeks as the talented 24-year-old is out of contract in the summer and will be available on a free transfer.

Rennes have repeatedly tried to extend the contract of the Vannes-born player, though he has persistently turned down their advances.

Having been approached by Monaco, Paris Saint-Germain and Olympique de Marseille last summer, it appears that Marveaux’s future is in England as new Liverpool director of football Damien Comolli has instigated the move for the former France Under-21 international.

Last season was something of a breakthrough campaign for the attacker, who scored an impressive 10 goals in 35 appearances. Previously his career had been rather blighted by injury, and even now he won’t play until 2011 because of a hamstring problem.

Liverpool have been recently linked with highly rated FC Copenhagen left-back Oscar Wendt and have admitted to scouting the defender.

Reds scout Jakob Friis-Hansen explained to swedish paper Expressen:

- We are keeping a good eye on Oscar. He does a great job, but he must play at a high level every week, the scout said.

- In Denmark there are just a few high-quality games.

He’s hardly Liverpool’s secret though. Several clubs such as Tottenham, Roma and Juventus have previously been keen on the player but a contract renewal in 2009 put an end to any potential move for the left-back.

German outfit Werder Bremen are now on red alert having discovered Liverpool’s possible intent and have renewed their interest. Bremen signed former Manchester United left-back Mikael Silvestre to fill the role last year, but Bermen manager Thomas Schaaf is far from satisfied with the former French International’s performances.

Wendt is very much the modern full-back and could fit comfortably into both teams. He a very strong defender but he also has the ability to get forward and support attacking play.

The Swede has been linked to a host of clubs, and probably more than we know about. Liverpool will have to write a decent cheque to land this one. Despite a valuation of £2.5million to £4million, it’s likely Roy will get his man at around £6million come January.

Reported Liverpool target Mirko Vucinic seems to be closer to a departure from Roma, according to TribalFootball.

Mirko Vucinic's minders are not firm in their commitment to AS Roma.

Rather than rule out a move away, the striker's agent, Eugene Ascari, now says the decision will be up to Roma management.

Vucinic confessed earlier this season an ambition to play in England.

Liverpool, Chelsea and Manchester United have all had the Montenegro star watched in the last 12 months.