Four strikers and a defender?

As the Hicks-Gillett-RBS saga rumbles on, we're approaching the next league game, against Blackburn. A game that might just be crucial for the survival of Roy Hodgson as manager of Liverpool FC.

What do you think, will he survive as manager if Liverpool looses to Blackburn? Give your oppinion in the poll to the right.

As reported earlier, one of this weeks hottest rumors is about the 27 years old russian striker Aleksandr Kerzhakov. Today the story was given a boost as Lucian Spalletti claimed he wouldn’t stand in the way of his striker should he wish to move.

According to The Daily Mail our club have been interested in signing the £6m rated Zenit St Petersburg player in January, as Roy Hodgson looks to bolster the attack.

Spalletti only wants players who are fully committed to the cause and will therefore not stand in the way of the 27-year-old. 

- I think he wants to stay at Zenit. But if a player really wants to leave, I’m not going to stop him. Our team have players who are ready to replace him, in this concrete case it’s Bukharov, the manager told the Daily Mail.

One of this summer's most talked transfer stories was about the french striker Loïc Remy. The saga ended in Marseille, after a summer of interminable flirtation with Tottenham, Arsenal, West Ham, Stoke and Liverpool.

But it does'nt seem to stop.

- Remy is dreaming of playing in England, and I am convinced he will be a very good player in England," his agent say, according to The Guardian.

Another player who has also been linked with a move til Liverpool several times before, is out of favour Roma defender Philippe Mexes.

If we are to belive a story on the Transfertavern site Roy Hodgson is ready to make a move for the player.

Much of the focus has been on reinforcing the offensive parts of the Liverpool squad, but the clubs inability to keep clean sheets is probably very much a concern for Hodgson.

If Liverpool are to succeed in bringing the 28 year old defender to England, they will have to compete with both AC Milan and Juventus who are both believed to be monitoring the situation regarding the former Auxerre player, ready to make a move should he become available.

A new face in the Liverpool transfer rumor mill is the israeli striker Itay Shechter. The player is apparently attracting interest from England, with Everton, Newcastle, West Ham AND Liverpool checking out the player, reports The Daily Mail.

The Hapoel Tel Aviv player has improved on last season's performances when he was the country's top scorer with 25 goals as Hapoel won a league and cup double.

The asking price is said to be at around £7m.

The next new face coming up this week is of the french striker Guillaume Hoarau.   

Sport.co.uk reports Hodgson may get into a battle with former Liverpool manager Gerard Houllier over the Paris St Germaine player. 

The Aston Villa manager is reportedly interested in the player, that recently signed a contract extension with the Ligue 1 side, having declined a move to Lyon during the summer.

But the 26-year-old’s form has alerted Premier League counterparts Roy Hodgson and Gerard Houllier both of whom have had the player watched on numerous occasions this season.

The Daily Mail suggest Aston Villa could move for the towering centre-forward in January, but the French club are angling for a fee believed to be in the region of £14 million. The Mail suggest Hoarau has been earmarked as a potential replacement for John Carew, who is a free agent at the end of the season.

The next Hyypia?

Liverpools new owners NESV today met with the Liverpool organisation, and John W. Henry warned he will not throw money at the club in a bid to solve their problems.

However, undoubtedly there will be spent some money on new players in january.

Todays hottest prospect in the rumour mill is the Norwegian, towering stopper Brede Hangeland.

Former Liverpool captain Jamie Redknapp believes the club will launch a raid for the Fulham defender in january, Sport.co.uk reports. He is suggesting the Norwegian is the closest thing to Anfield legend Sami Hyypia.

Hodgson’s close relationship with him could aid his endeavours to land Hangeland; if he in january still is the manager of the club. 

- I’m sure Mark Hughes is bracing himself for a bid from former Fulham manager Roy Hodgson, now he has the Red Sox millions behind him at Anfield, Redknap writes in his Daily Mail column.

Another player being linked with a move to Anfield this fine monday is Wigans Charles N'Zogbia.

Birmingham are being tipped to rekindle their interest in the player, but the Frenchman's form so far this season is said to have alerted the Anfield scouts, Metro.co.uk reports.

N'Zogbia was very close to completing a move to Birmingham i august, but the deal never materialized.

Birmingham is reported to be improving on the Wigan winger's £9million price-tag from the summer, but Liverpool will probably have the funds to compete for his signature.

Todays third rumor is about a tall spaniard. Fernando Llorente is said to have been on the Liverpool radar for some time now.

According to the Liver4Liverpool site Chief Scout Eduardo Macia is keeping tabs on the Atletic Bilbao player, keeping Roy Hodgson and the coaching staff informed of the player.

The spaniard currently has a very impressive record at international level with seven goals in twelve games, and is certainly now challenging Torres for a starting place in the Spanish national side.

Last but not least Liverpool is today being linked with the russian international striker Alexander Kerzhakov.

According to The Daily Mail Liverpool scouts watched the 27-year-old striker score for Russia against Ireland last week which followed on from hat-tricks for his club Zenit St Petersburg against Anderlecht in the Europa League and against Saturn Moscow in the Russian league.

Liverpool would be looking at paying around £6million but the player still has three years left on contract.

Midfielder linked again

With new owners in place Liverpool will very likely look to strenghten the side in January. Now the club is again being linked with a Belgian midfielder.

Roy Hodgson is reportedly looking to beat arch rivals Manchester United to the signing of impressive international midfielder Steven Defour, Transfertavern reports.

Alex Ferguson has earlier, when the player was injured, sent a letter wishing him well. This sparked a frenzy of speculations linking the player to Old Trafford.

But with fresh owners installed at Anfield Liverpool will look to sign a player that many have dubbed the “New Steven Gerrard”. The 22 year old does play in a similar style to the Liverpool captain and does have a great deal of potential that appears to eclipse what he can achieve with his Belgian side. 

United will remain firm favourites to sign him, but with the growing interest from Premier League sides, it will probably be up to the player to choose.

Do you think Defour would give Liverpool the boost the side needs in midfield?

Brazilian striker to Merseyside?

This week Liverpool enters into a new age and will have a fresh start after kicking out Hicks and Gillett. Hopefully Liverpool will, under the new regime of John W. Henry and New England Sports Ventures (NESV), have more resources to compete in the transfer market.

It is going to be an exiting time for every Liverpool supporter in the coming months, with the next transfer window coming up in january!

According to kopsource.com Liverpool has entered into the race of signing out-of-favour Seville striker Luis Fabiano.

The rumour says Hodgson was monitoring the strikers situation closely but knew a move for the 29-year-old would have been impossible under the old regime. But he will probably have more funds to splash out on players comes january.

Fabiano, who recently signed a contract extension until 2013, has opened a bidding war for his services after he declared that he is reassessing his future at Seville:

I don’t know what will happen, but if things remain the same then in January I will seek a solution’, says the player to Goal.com.

Another rumor that has surfaced this week is about Lisandro Lopez. According to The Daily Mail both Liverpool and Tottenham are monitoring his situation in Lyon.

The imscouting site is reporting that Portuguese paper Abola says he could be  a possible successor to Liverpool forward Fernando Torres.

The strikers estimated price is at around £14,5m

I am by the way presented my blog at Bloggurat.

PSV midfielder linked

Despite the last-day events in the seeminly endles take-over-saga, transfer stories keep on coming out of the rumour mill.

The hottest prospect the last few days has been the highly rated PSV attacking midfielder Ibrahim Afellay.

The 24-year-old Dutch international has been firmly established in the PSV first team for nigh-on five years now (after making his debut in 2004 at the tender age of 17) and is apparently ready to try his hand in the Premier League.

According to the Daily Mail the player dreams of playing for Manchester United or Liverpool.

Everton and Arsenal have also been linked, but the 24-year-old attacking midfielder said: 'Playing in the Premier League would be best for my prestige. I'd like to play for Liverpool or Manchester United , the top-level prospect for any player.'

Check out Afellay in this video:

• Read more: Afellay profile (Wikipedia)
• Read more: Afellay profile (Sky sports)

Another rumour is saying that Liverpool may sign Villarreal's 26-year-old Brazil striker Nilmar in the January transfer window for £14m. According to caughtoffside.com the striker is on top of Roy Hodgsons wish list.

The 26 year old former Lyon man has been a huge hit in La Liga and has helped his over achieving Castellon side to second place with his fine performances and prolific goalscoring return. Nilmar is currently top scorer in Spain having scored five goals in six matches and has been a regular in the national team set up.

Another front-man who could be on his way to Anfield is FK Partizan's Cleo.

Liverpool have managed just seven goals thus far this season and only two of those have come from recognised strikers leaving Hodgson looking for alternative attacking options. With the issue of ownership of the club looking a lot clearer and the future looking more hopeful the Merseyside club hopes to have funds to reinvest in the coming transfer window.

The Brazilian is valed at around the £12m mark.

Roma striker linked

The last few days I have been distracted by the LFC-RBS-Hicks-Gillett-NESV-takeover saga.

The rumour mill has also gone fairly quiet. But some stories has come through the media grid.

Roma striker Mirko Vucinic is hoping to impress interested Premier League Clubs with his performance for Montenegro against England. Vucinic has been linked with among others Liverpool according to the Daily Mail.

- I am very happy there is a lot of interest from the Premier League, and I hope to do my best and have a great game, Vucinic told the paper.

Vucinic scored nineteen goals in all competitions last season, and at 27 year of age seems to be looking for a new challenge. 

Liverpool looks to be in the driving seat when it comes to the highly-rated left-back Reto Ziegler.

A story by Metro.co.uk says a number of clubs are hunting the 24 years old Sampdoria player, including European giants Juventus and Zenit St Petersburg.

The guess is however that Roy Hodgson is confident of persuading Ziegler to return to England three seasons after quitting Spurs for a move to Italy.

The Swiss international defender has shown his versatility for both club and country by playing in a more advanced role on the left of midfield, meaning he could play in tandem with Konchesky.

Liverpool in for Valencia winger?

The Daily Mirror reports that Liverpool scouts are tracking Valencia forward Juan Manuel Mata in the hope of making a bid for the schemer in January.

Although Joe Cole signed on a free transfer during the summer, Hodgson’s Liverpool have still often looked blunt in attack, devoid of the creativity necessary to break down the massed ranks of Premier League defences.

Mata is thought to be the solution to such problems. The deal, the Mirror reports, is subject to the takeover being completed.

Metro.co.uk reports that Hodgson is planning to use out-of-sorts Ryan Babel as a bargaining chip. He hopes that landing Mata would be a good way to bolster his squad and placate the fans.

Reports on Spanish radio says Hodgson is preparing to table a £10m bid for the 22-year-old, using Babel as a make-weight.

According to imscouting.com papers claims that Liverpool have been “exerting strong pressure” on the La Liga leaders over the player.

Mata, who plays primarily as a left winger is highly regarded in Spain and was a member of the squad that won the World Cup in South Africa during the summer.

He has scored three goals in nine appearances for the Spanish national team, while he has been a prolific scorer from midfield for Valencia in La Liga in the last three seasons.

Mata, who began his career as a trainee at Real Madrid, would cost the Reds around £12 million.

Read more: Juan Mata player profile (The Mirror)
Read more: Player profile (Goal.com)

Liverpool linked with Real Madrid star

The word is that Real Madrid star Kakas future might not be in Santiago Bernabé. 

Reports say that the most obvious choise would be to go to Inter Milan.

BUT:Kaka is set to be offered a January move to England after failing to live up to  expectations at Real Madrid.

 Liverpool have also been mooted as a potential suitor by sources in Italy, with Kaka tipped as the kind of signing that would be a coup for the new Anfield owners, writes The Daily Mail.

Kaka is recovering from a knee injury which will keep him out for most of the rest of the year, but the indications in Spain are that he has already fallen out of boss Jose Mourinho’s plans.

Mesut Ozil was brought in from Werder Bremen in the summer to occupy the same position and has already impressed.

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