Wednesday, May 12, 2010
It appears that Liverpool boss Rafael Benitez is set to raid his former club to fill the void left by the departure of Xabi Alonso to Real Madrid last summer and it is believed that Banega is fully in favour of a move to Anfield despite the lack of UEFA Champions League football on Merseyside next season.
Sources close to the 21-year-old central midfielder have told Goal.com Spain that the Reds have made an enticing offer, the terms of which Banega is said to be happy with, paving the way for a move which would see him link up with fellow Argentinians Javier Mascherano and Emiliano Insua.
It is understood that Liverpool have made a bid of around €10 million, which is rumoured to match Banega's new buyout clause but is considerably less than the €18 million los Che paid Boca Juniors to take him from the Bombonera two years ago.
Valencia's financial problems are well publicised and despite talk of potential big money departures from the Mestalla, such as David Villa and Juan Mata, the transfer income from such sales would not be sufficient to plug holes in their massive debt and so los Che now seem willing to cash in on Banega, even at a loss.
The Sun claimed Aquilani would be sold as part of a summer clear-out at Anfield, with Juventus being his suitors in a cut-price €11.7 million deal. The Daily Mirror then added that Fiorentina were ready to bid for him.
But agent Franco Zavaglia has bitten back. He is certain the Italian midfielder, who joined Liverpool from Roma last summer, will be staying on Merseyside.
"I think this is just more big talk from the English tabloids," Zavaglia told Tuttomercatoweb.com.
"I don't know anything, because Alberto will be staying at Liverpool.
"I hear about Juventus and Fiorentina, but I think both those clubs need to organise their own structure at club level before they can think about the market.
"In addition, Alberto has recovered from his ankle injury and so I don't think Liverpool will want to sell him."
Monday, May 10, 2010
Dirk Kuyt Believes Rafael Benitez Will Be At Liverpool Next Season
0 comments Posted by izzreen at 5:30 PM
The Dutchman also sees it as vital that the Reds hold on to players such as Steven Gerrard and Fernando Torres, both of whom have been linked with big money moves away from Merseyside in recent days.
"The manager has four years left on his contract, so I don’t expect him to leave unless something else happens," the Dutch international told The Liverpool Echo.
"For me, the most important thing is keeping the main players.
"Hopefully then we can buy a few more key players and start winning trophies."
Kuyt also acknowledged that the Reds have made too many mistakes this season and it is vital that they learn from them quickly.
A 0-0 draw at Hull City on the concluding Sunday of the season consigned the Merseysiders to a seventh-placed finish, meaning that they face the ignominy of having to play in the qualifying rounds of the Europa League next season.
Kuyt believes that the players must be honest and take their share of the blame, before lifting themselves to face a new season with resolve and determination to succeed.
"It has been a hard season and we did everything to change things," the Dutchman added.
“Up until 10 days ago, we were fighting for a trophy but it didn’t happen. You can say we have to forget what has happened but, really, we have to learn from the mistakes we made. We’ve got to push next season and be bouncing from the start.
“In football, you can never be sure what is happening and at this time, we know the club looks very bad. We are looking for new owners and you don’t know which players are going to stay or go.
“But Liverpool is a club with a great history and great supporters and we have to stay close together and fight really hard.
“Every player is interested in what is going on but, if I am honest, I can’t blame that side of things for some of our performances.
"We tried to stay focused with things on the pitch – that’s what I did, as did everyone else. We just couldn’t make good things happen for the club."
The draw at Hull also frustrated Kuyt, who wanted to end the season with a victory to cheer the fans.
“We were all hoping to finish the season with a good result so we had some kind of good feeling to finish on but unfortunately that did not happen," he said.
"Stevie [Gerrard] went close and we had a couple of other chances.
"We pushed hard but we didn’t get the result we wanted and that is disappointing."
Jason McAteer: It Wouldn't Surprise Me If Steven Gerrard Left Liverpool This Summer
0 comments Posted by izzreen at 5:27 PM
After a disappointing season, which saw the Anfield club finish seventh in the Premier League table and crash out of the Champions League during the group stages, the Reds will be hoping to hold on to their prize asset.
But amidst all the current financial problems at the club, Liverpool-born McAteer believes the Reds could have a fight on their hands to hang onto Gerrard this summer.
"The club is not secure behind the scenes," McAteer told Sky Sports News. "You're [players] probably not worried if the club is selling a million shirts in Asia or if we're doing TV deals across the world.
"All we want to know as footballers is that there's investment coming into the team, which is going to bring in quality players, which is going to strengthen our team, which is going to help us push for league titles and Champions League football and that's what Steven Gerrard wants to see.
The former Reds star believes the upheaval behind the scenes at Anfield could also have an influence on where Gerrard will be playing his football next season.
He said: "At the moment if you put everything on the table there's not a great deal going forward from the board room, it's a mess at the minute.
"If Steven Gerrard is being enticed away, it wouldn't surprise me if he left now."
BREAKING NEWS: Juventus Claim Deal For Liverpool Boss Rafael Benitez Is Dead
0 comments Posted by izzreen at 5:25 PM
Sky Sport Italia have claimed that deal is completely dead in the water while Turin daily Tutto Sport suggest that, following a board meeting, the club are now actively looking into an alternative to the Spaniard.
Initial reports suggest the club will try to pull off an unlikely coup by landing Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger. However, it seems unlikely that the Frenchman would jump ship as he is believed to already be preparing the club for next season.
Juve have been courting Rafa for nearly four months and the Bianconeri directors were said to be confident they would get their man after Liverpool finished a disappointing seventh in the Premier League and were twice knocked out of European competition.
If Chelsea Can Turn It Around, So Can Liverpool - Rafael Benitez
0 comments Posted by izzreen at 5:24 PM
The Anfield club finished seventh in the final Premier League standings, a full 23 points adrift of winners Chelsea. Benitez's future has been under huge scrutiny in recent weeks, with a move to Italian strugglers Juventus strongly linked, but the Spaniard insisted after Sunday's disappointing 0-0 draw with Hull City that he was willing and capable of turning things around.
Benitez won the Champions League and FA Cup in his first two seasons at the club, yet in the past four campaigns has failed to add to his tally. But in the wake of seeing Chelsea grab their first title since 2006, Benitez was quick to draw parallels with the London club.
"For any manager, when you have a bad season, you want to improve and change things and I think it has to be this way," Benitez told reporters.
"I think all the managers, especially when they are in England and are at a club for a long time, will have good moments and bad moments.
"In football every year you cannot win and win and win. You can see Chelsea winning [the Premier League], not winning and now winning again so it can happen."
Asked if he deserved the chance to revitalise Liverpool's fortunes, Benitez phrased his answer to rally against what he perceives to be a negative media campaign against him, with certain outlets using anonymous sources in articles to push their own agenda.
"It depends. 'Senior sources' maybe will say different but it has been the same in the history of football," he said, before outlining what he hopes will be achieved in his latest meeting with the club's chairman, Martin Broughton.
"Every meeting helps, in one way or another, and at this moment we have to talk about everything," said the Reds boss.
"Hopefully the second meeting will be as positive as the first one...but the press continue with the same agenda.
"I think for the stability of the club it is important because we have to move forward on everything.
"Hopefully we can progress with our next meeting."
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