Liverpool Signings and General Rumours Thread

PHB · 15-07-2005 12:52pm

I like the way he asks did any of the teams have injuries except when it was the Chelsea game

Funny though, I love the,
and can you stop calling me Duncan - I'm Stevie from now on

kaimera · 15-07-2005 1:16pm

lmao. le good indeed.

p.pete · 15-07-2005 1:24pm

Cool story Yom 1

I'm starting to see stories linking Owen with a move back to Liverpool - anyone reckon that would be a good move? I reckon we should take him if he's being offered cheaper then the 8mil we received for him (as he's been a sub for the last year). We can throw Nunez in as a sweetener if he hasn't completed the Celta Vigo switch yet.

Shred · 15-07-2005 1:49pm

I did see this
from the Echo:

Owen in bid for Anfield return

Jul 15 2005

EXCLUSIVE by Chris Bascombe, Liverpool Echo

MICHAEL OWEN is desperate to make a sensational return to Liverpool.

The former Reds striker wants to end his Real Madrid exile and Anfield officials have been alerted to Owen's fervent desire to rejoin the club he left last summer.

A dramatic swoop hasn't been ruled out.

However, Rafa Benitez has already made other arrangements in the transfer market and would need convincing to move for the 25-year-old striker.

The European Champions have not budgeted for a bid for Owen, who joined the club as a schoolboy but decided to leave for Spain in an £8m deal last year.

Although Benitez could be in the hunt for a proven goalscorer before the transfer window closes, that would depend on how much he could raise in player sales.

His first priority is a target man, with Southampton's Peter Crouch still top of his wish list.

Liverpool are interested in the possibility of arranging a year loan deal with Real Madrid for Owen, but that would require some skilful negotiation and appears to be an extremely optimistic option at this stage.

Owen left with the Real Madrid squad for a summer tour of America yesterday, but he's anxious to return to England before the start of the season - and Liverpool are currently the only club which interests him.

Model professional Owen has never publicly expressed any discontent about life in Madrid, but privately he's become increasingly disillusioned since leaving England.

On the pitch, Owen's goal record defies the accepted view he's failed to make an impact in Spain.

He scored 14 goals in 22 starts, but he's never completely settled and has found himself regularly on the bench, despite his impressive goal ratio.

Owen scored 158 goals in 298 appearances of an Anfield career which began in 1997 and is seventh on the list of the club's all time goalscorers.

I hope it's true as I'd have him back in a shot

Drag00n79 · 15-07-2005 2:08pm

Shred wrote:

Liverpool are interested in the possibility of arranging a year loan deal with Real Madrid for Owen, but that would require some skilful negotiation and appears to be an extremely optimistic option at this stage.

This is the only way I can see this happening. What would he cost us to buy — £10-£12m? I have no doubt the man could hit in 20 Prem goals for us with Xabi and an improved Gerrard supplying him but I really wish we sorted the defensive buys first. That is our priority imho.

Shred · 15-07-2005 2:20pm

With regards to the defence, I was listening to Newstalk last night and Graham Hunter was saying the pool should break the bank for Milito. In his estimation what milito lacks in height and pace he makes up for with his excellent positional sense. Benitez is also apparantly not going to increase the pool's bid for him and Milito has supposedly threatened to turn in a transfer request if Zaragoza don't do business with the pool. So it looks as if something might be sorted there

Drag00n79 · 15-07-2005 2:29pm

Igor has moved on. Signed for Panathinaikos this afternoon.

Shred wrote:

With regards to the defence, I was listening to Newstalk last night and Graham Hunter was saying the pool should break the bank for Milito. In his estimation what milito lacks in height and pace he makes up for with his excellent positional sense.

I saw this piece yesterday from Tim Vickery on the BBC site about Milito.

I've been following Liverpool transfer target Gabriel Milito ever since the South American Under-20 Championships of January 1999 - and six-and-a-half years later I still can't make up my mind about him.

Real Zaragoza's Argentine defender - 25 in September - has undoubted class. He reads the game well, possesses excellent timing in the tackle and can set attacks in motion with accurate passes. But the doubts remain. He is not particularly quick, tall or strong. The lack of pace, height and power poses a serious question; is Milito that most dangerous of footballing animals, a centre-back who looks better than he is?

Clearly I am not alone with my doubts. Two years ago Milito found himself in the middle of a tug of war of internal Real Madrid politics. One faction wanted to sign him from Independiente, one faction was against. The latter won, and the deal fell through. The blame was placed on a serious knee injury that Milito had suffered two years earlier. It was an excuse. Milito had already shown that he had made a complete recovery with Independiente, and has continued to do so in Spain with Zaragoza.

Milito, then, is fit enough. But is he good enough to be called a genuinely world class defender? Even his mentor, Argentina coach José Pekerman, seems not to be entirely sure. Pekerman groomed Milito through the youth ranks, and raved about the youngster as he made his way up. When Pekerman became senior coach late last year it was assumed that Milito's international career would take off. In fact he has been used sparingly. He featured when Argentina fielded reserve sides away to Bolivia and Ecuador, and had a shaky game when given a chance at home to Venezuela. He hardly had a look in during the recent Confederations Cup even though the first choice duo of Coloccini and Heinze both had poor tournaments. And when he has played he has frequently been brought off as Pekerman seeks to change the team's formation. He is a long, long, way from making himself indispensable for Argentina. A successful move to the European champions would clearly help.

Definition time is approaching for Gabriel Milito. Raised on Hansen and Lawrenson, the Anfield crowd know how to spot a top-class defender. If Milito can win them over then I'm prepared to bury my doubts.

Source

Guy:Incognito · 15-07-2005 2:34pm

How many bloody strikers do we need? Are they all going to work on a 1 game on 4 games off shift rotation?

Bannor · 15-07-2005 2:35pm

Milito - Zaragoza are acting the maggot over the transfer fee, every time Liverpool make an offer they ask for more money. Initially they wanted £6M, then £7.5M now it's £11.5M. There's breaking the bank and then there's bending over to be shafted. Zaragoza are pissed off that they offered the player the same contract as offered by Liverpool and he said no his mind is made up he wants to join Liverpool.

Drag00n79 · 15-07-2005 2:37pm

Welcome back Bannor! Any news on the current rumours would be much appreciated.

Bannor · 15-07-2005 2:42pm

Owen - he was at the JP McManus Pro-Am golf tournament at Adare Manor a few weeks ago and afterwards he was in Liverpool where he had a meeting with Parry and Benitez. Parry is confident that a deal can be done with Madrid but it might not happen until January.

seabee · 15-07-2005 2:42pm

Stekelly wrote:

How many bloody strikers do we need? Are they all going to work on a 1 game on 4 games off shift rotation?

Maybe he is going to try the 4-2-3-1 formation again this year and use some of the strikers to play off a "big man up front" HOPEFULLY NOT CROUCH.

Bannor · 15-07-2005 5:14pm

Shamrok wrote:

I saw this piece yesterday from Tim Vickery on the BBC site about Milito.

Clearly I am not alone with my doubts. Two years ago Milito found himself in the middle of a tug of war of internal Real Madrid politics. One faction wanted to sign him from Independiente, one faction was against. The latter won, and the deal fell through. The blame was placed on a serious knee injury that Milito had suffered two years earlier. It was an excuse. Milito had already shown that he had made a complete recovery with Independiente, and has continued to do so in Spain with Zaragoza.

That's not true - there are no internal tugs of war when it comes to transfers, Perez is a dictator, if he wanted the player they would have signed him but he heeded medical advice. The club had three different doctors check out his knee - They each said that the knee wasn't fully recovered. Perez decided to do without buying a defender and Real suffered the consequences. Barcelona also came close to signing him but pulled out because of his knee. In the end Independiente sold him to Zaragoza for a knockdown price.

Drag00n79 · 16-07-2005 2:39pm

Article by Oliver Kay, The London Times, this morning:
LIVERPOOL hope to secure the services of Luis Figo, the legendary Real Madrid winger, within the next 48 hours and have also asked the Spanish club to inform them of developments regarding Michael Owen, the former Liverpool forward. At this stage, it seems unlikely that Owen will be returning to Anfield, having left in an £8 million move last August, but Liverpool have expressed a tentative interest in competing with Manchester United for his signature should he become available.

Although Rafael Benítez, the Liverpool manager, has signalled his desire to bring greater aerial presence to his forward line by targeting Peter Crouch, of Southampton, there is a strong feeling at boardroom level that the club could not afford to let Owen join another English club.

Owen flew with his Real team-mates to Chicago for a training camp this week, eager to convince the club’s management that he merits a place in the first team for the coming season, but Figo is expected to leave the United States over the weekend to settle his future, either at Liverpool or Inter Milan. Liverpool agreed a £60,000-a-week contract with the 32-year-old last week, and have persuaded Real to drop their demand for a £2 million transfer fee, with Figo left to choose between Merseyside and Milan.

Reports in Spain suggest that Figo’s wife has expressed a preference for moving to Italy, but Liverpool are cautiously optimistic that he will move to Anfield, having expressed a desire to play in the Premiership. Benítez hopes that Figo, Gabriel Milito and Crouch, the Southampton forward, will join the club at their pre-season training camp in Switzerland next week and intends to offload several players, including Salif Diao, Antonio Núñez and Milan Baros.

Article from Andy Hunter, London Independent, this morning:
Liverpool expect a final decision on the future of Luis Figo to be announced this weekend after Real Madrid relented in their demand for £2m for the former World and European Player of the Year.

Figo held talks with the Madrid president, Florentino Perez, on Thursday night in an attempt to secure the free transfer that would allow a move to Anfield or Internazionale, who have also confirmed their interest in the 32-year-old.

Though an agreement has been reached, with Perez dropping his demands in order to save the £5m payable to the Portuguese international for the final year of his contract, Figo was included in the Real party that embarked on a pre-season tour of the United States, China, Japan and Thailand yesterday.

As he left Madrid airport, however, Figo indicated to waiting reporters that England could be his final destination and Anfield officials, having finalised personal terms with the midfielder, are hopeful of a definitive answer within the next 48 hours.

The Liverpool manager, Rafael Benitez, has signed three midfielders this summer - Boudewijn Zenden, Mohamed Sissoko and Mark Gonzalez - but remains anxious to strengthen his right flank. "I would like two or three more players," he said yesterday. "We need a centre-half and maybe a right winger as Antonio Nuñez is sure to go to another club."

Benitez is at a training camp in Switzerland where he yesterday met Milan Baros' agent, Pavel Paska, after reports that the Czech Republic international will be sold in order to make way for a new striker at Anfield.

Baros was left on the bench in the Champions' League qualifier against TNS in midweek and though he rejected moves to Valencia and Lyon this summer, the 23-year-old faces an uncertain future under Benitez.

Even if Baros is sold, however, the Liverpool manager is unlikely to spend his additional revenue on the former Anfield striker Michael Owen, who is reportedly keen on a return to Merseyside following a difficult debut season in Madrid. Benitez would prefer to take Peter Crouch from Southampton despite Rupert Lowe's insistence on an £8m transfer fee for the England international.

seabee · 17-07-2005 11:57am

Man City reportedly want Harry Kewell to replace Shaun Wright Phillips

mike65 · 17-07-2005 5:16pm

Baros for West-ham???????? According to Daily Star.

Mike.

el rabitos · 17-07-2005 6:47pm

Baros for West-ham???????? According to Daily Star

then it must be true! :rolleyes:

i dont see baros staying in england if he's leaving, i'd rather he stayed in red tbh

tel922001 · 18-07-2005 9:30am

i just heard figo signed this morning and im seening it all over the newsnow soccer hope its true

StickyMcGinty · 18-07-2005 9:51am

feck so do i! any sources??

Villain · 18-07-2005 10:08am

Well its onlu a rumour at this stage, apparently Real have dropped the request of 2 million but that hasn't been confirmed either.

Another rumuour doing the rounds is that Owen is looking to go back to the pool but Rafa doesn't want to spend the 18 million that Real would be looking for and instead wants Crouch signed as soon as he returns from Scotland on a pre-season tour with Southampton.

All specualtion.....

tel922001 · 18-07-2005 11:30am

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,27-1698356,00.html

Well the times is hardly the sun or the daily mirror , id believe that more than the other papers, and i have heard they have settled his contract in madrid so hopefully there is a bit of truth in what i heard , its on a few websites most of them liverpool ones

Drag00n79 · 18-07-2005 12:08pm

Hope this is not true. Goal.com is just after putting this up:

Peppino Tirri, the FIFA agent that is acting as mediator between European giants Inter and Real Madrid, confirmed to Goal.com that both Samuel and Figo will join the Nerazzurri by the end of the week.
“I heard about a return of Ronaldo to Inter, with Adriano going to Real. This news makes me laugh. The only names coming out of the talks between Inter and Real are those of Figo and Samuel,” said Tirri.

The FIFA agent also provided the time-span he believes it will take for all matters to be done and dusted. “The talks are very advanced. By Tuesday or Wednesday both players will vest the Inter jersey. Real were holding back because they were looking for replacements. But Samuel and Figo will soon be Inter’s,” he explained. Figo is expected to join the Nerazzurri on a two-year contract worth around 3.5/4 million Euros per season. Argentine defender Samuel is instead expected to arrive at Moratti’s court on a one-year loan.

redspider · 18-07-2005 1:06pm

Gabriel Milito - 25 in September - has undoubted class. He reads the game well, possesses excellent timing in the tackle and can set attacks in motion with accurate passes. But the doubts remain. He is not particularly quick, tall or strong. The lack of pace, height and power poses a serious question; is Milito that most dangerous of footballing animals, a centre-back who looks better than he is?

I would also have doubts about a player that is not tall nor fast playing at the back. Thats the last thing we need, no matter how comfortable he is on the ball or how well he reads the game.

PHB · 18-07-2005 1:43pm

John Terry is neither tall nor fast.
Anticipation is the first half yard of pace

Drag00n79 · 18-07-2005 1:49pm

PHB wrote:

John Terry is neither tall nor fast.
Anticipation is the first half yard of pace

Terry is 6' 2''. Milito is only 5' 9''.

Jivin Turkey · 18-07-2005 2:14pm

5' 9'' is very short for a centre half. Although he could have a great spring I would worry about a CB thats short of both height and pace.

Lex Luthor · 18-07-2005 2:21pm

Jivin Turkey wrote:

5' 9'' is very short for a centre half. Although he could have a great spring I would worry about a CB thats short of both height and pace.

so if Fabio Cannavaro expressed an interest in joining Liverpool, you'd not be in favour????

Big Nelly · 18-07-2005 2:54pm

Rafael Benitez has made only one change from the squad that beat TNS 3-0 in the first leg of the Champions League first qualifying round tie, with Spanish international Luis Garcia coming into the 18-man party in place of Milan Baros.

Polish goalkeeper Jerzy Dudek, who along with Baros played in Saturday's friendly victory over Bayer Leverkusen, has missed out again.

Benitez and the squad flew back to Britain from Switzerland on Monday and will return to their training camp on Wednesday morning. Benitez is likely to give the likes of Scott Carson, Djibril Cisse, Dietmar Hamann, Josemi and Boudewijn Zenden - all substitutes in the first leg - a chance from the start at Wrexham. Stephen Warnock, who needed an X-ray after damaging an elbow against Leverkusen, is also included in the squad.

Teams:
Liverpool (from): Reina, Carson, Finnan, Hyypia, Carragher, Riise, Warnock, Josemi, Gerrard, Potter, Zenden, Luis Garcia, Hamann, Whitbread, Alonso, Cisse, Morientes, Le Tallec.

Wonder if he going to sell them on>?????

Vikings · 18-07-2005 6:27pm

Is the match on tv tomorrow?

Guy:Incognito · 18-07-2005 6:56pm

PHB wrote:

John Terry is neither tall nor fast.
Anticipation is the first half yard of pace

Paul McGrath was anything but quick in the last few years of his career but was still one of the best defenders in england. Carragher oesnt have pace.

Shred · 18-07-2005 7:16pm

IncredibleBulk wrote:

Is the match on tv tomorrow?

It's only being shown on the official site A.F.A.I.K.

Thanx 4 The Fish · 18-07-2005 8:06pm

Is on ITV2 tomorrow.

Jivin Turkey · 18-07-2005 9:30pm

Lex Luthor wrote:

so if Fabio Cannavaro expressed an interest in joining Liverpool, you'd not be in favour????

No but Fabio Cannavaro has continuously proved himself on the highest level. Milito is still plying his trade with a reasonably small club and only has a handful of caps for a team that is hardly overrun with quality defenders.

byte · 18-07-2005 11:34pm

Thanx 4 The Fish wrote:

Is on ITV2 tomorrow.

Yeah, and thankfully, I have access to the channel! \o/

mada999 · 19-07-2005 12:01am

ditto!!

Thanx 4 The Fish · 19-07-2005 12:04am

Am about 40 mins from Racecourse ground so might pop up and see if I can get a ticket.

p.pete · 19-07-2005 7:27am

Most reports at the moment seem to indicate Figo is close to a switch to Inter and not Liverpool - anyone have any decent info on this?

galwaydude · 19-07-2005 7:40am

would be a shame but aparently his wife would prefer milan over liverpool, dont know why though lol better shopping proberly

In saying that figo would have been a good signing for liverpool and give us the width we need.

Lex Luthor · 19-07-2005 9:03am

Stekelly wrote:

Carragher oesnt have pace.

I always hear this, but to be honest I don't think Carra is that slow....

Drag00n79 · 19-07-2005 10:43am

p.pete wrote:

Most reports at the moment seem to indicate Figo is close to a switch to Inter and not Liverpool - anyone have any decent info on this?

New day, new story.

[font=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif] Inter Milan are “not optimistic” about their chances of signing Liverpool target Luis Figo. The Italian club’s president Massimo Moratti revealed he is not close to finalising a move for either Figo or the Portuguese star’s Real Madrid team-mate Walter Samuel.

“We will try to do something in the next few days,” said Moratti. “We will see in what direction this takes us, but nothing is free. “Thus, we are not optimistic when it comes to the financial side of the deal but from the sporting side, we are. We are willing to try to do it.”
[/font]Source

midget lord · 19-07-2005 11:06am

It seems figo has gone on Real's american tour to earn himself a free transfer, or thats what i have been told.

tel922001 · 19-07-2005 11:49am

Dudek and Baros get dreaded message from Benítez
By Oliver Kay

IF TWO players were desperate to leave the comforts of Liverpool’s training camp in Switzerland for a seemingly academic fixture against Total Network Solutions in Wrexham tonight, they were Jerzy Dudek and Milan Baros, but their absence from the 18-man squad will have confirmed their worst fears about their future prospects on Merseyside.
Rafael Benítez, the Liverpool manager, attempted to make light of his decision not to use either player in the first leg of this Champions League first qualifying-round tie, which his team won 3-0, but by doing so again he has left no doubt about his intention to sell them and to avoid putting off potential buyers by making them ineligible for Uefa competitions.

Dudek, the Poland goalkeeper, and Baros, the Czech Republic forward, want to stay for the remaining two years of their contracts, but the prospect of being frozen out until the Barclays Premiership starts on August 13 may force a rethink. Dudek is interesting Sporting Lisbon while Baros has admirers in Italy and Spain.

By including in his squad players such as Steven Gerrard, who scored all three goals in the first leg, and Xabi Alonso, Benítez has lived up to his promise to approach the match in “a serious frame of mind”. For TNS, that may kill off any hopes of a second-leg upset.

Bannor · 19-07-2005 12:04pm

Figo - He told Benitez many months ago that Liverpool is where he wants to go.

The €3M (£2M) fee that Real were looking for - Perez decided to drop the demand last week after a meeting with Figo's representatives. Figo threatened legal action against the club for the payment in full of his contract and loyalty bonuses if the club got a fee for him - the prospect of getting €3M for the player and then having to pay out €5-7M was convincing. Figo agreed to go on tour with the circus as a good will gesture.

The Inter Milan link - Real want rid of Walter Samuel, Inter can't afford to pay the wages so the plan was to take him on loan for a season with a view to a permanent move next year. Madrid were going to pay around 60% of his wage during the loan period. Inter agreed to the loan but said they wanted a package deal involving Solari (a player they had offered a bosman contract to back in January as had Liverpool but the player decided to stay at Madrid) and Madrid agreed. Inter signed Solari and then decided they couldn't afford Samuel. Last week Moratti told Perez that they were prepared to pay the €3M fee for Figo as a down payment on Samuel and a package deal was on again this time involving Samuel and Figo. Mancini has been busy getting Portugese players who have played in Italy to have friendly chats with Figo and his wife about Italy.

Figo's Wife (Helene Svedin) - has been listening to the little whispers about Italy and telling Luis that they shouldn't dismiss the move to Milan out of hand, an agent of Inter Milan has been happy to tell a few friendly journalists that Mrs. Figo prefers Milan to Liverpool.

In the mean time a representative for the Figo family has been making trips to Liverpool to look at properties.

Liverpool or Inter Milan? Liverpool me thinks. Inter and Real are happy to drag the thing out so that Benitez gets tired of it and signs somebody else. But Perez also knows that if Moratti can't afford Samuel then he certainly can't afford both Samuel and Figo.

Don't expect any real developments until later this week - The registration deadline for the second round of the CL qualifiers is Thursday night.

p.pete · 19-07-2005 12:19pm

Excellent post, cheers Bannor

<edit>

In terms of the CL deadlines, personally I wouldn't be too worried if Figo wasn't in place for the 2nd leg. As long as the major signings are in place for the 3rd leg or for the group stage deadline at the very latest (which hopefully we get as far).

I'd see it as more important from the training / pre-season point of view to get players signed up as soon as possible. I'm sure Rafa would like his complete squad already.

Bannor · 19-07-2005 12:37pm

I would expect Figo to stay on tour with Madrid until the end of the month. The registration date for the third qualifying round is over two weeks away (August 4/5th) so there is plenty of time and tabloid column inches to fill between now and then.

Crouch, Milito and Galetti could all be signed before the Thursday deadline.