Liverpool Signings and General Rumours Thread

therecklessone

Tusky wrote:

Liverpool have been linked with an amazing double swoop for Barcelona striker Henrik Larsson and Spurs forward Jermain Defoe.

Heard this rumour today from a few 'Pool fan sites via Spurs fan site FTL. Fee mentioned was £20m (Pool sources not Spurs). I'd be stunned if Rafa was prepared to spend that amount on Defoe when he baulked at spending £17m on Owen.

Defoe definitely has the hump over not playing for Spurs though, with Owen injured I'm guessing he sees this as the perfect opportunity to stake a claim to a place in SGE's starting XI for Germany.

zAbbo

I'd say Defoe is more concerned with getting into the World Cup squad than the starting XI.

Typically 4 strikers, Obviously Rooney and Owen(even if he hasn't kicked a ball), Crouch as an alternative, and one other. But with Darren Bent playing well, Defoe could be the one left out.

Sell Cisse, Buy Jermain man

Dont be at yourself

Weren't Totthenham interested in Cisse over the summer? Possible Cisse + cash for Defoe deal?

Not something I'd jump at, Crouch is on form and Cisse and Moro both have the potential to do well once they get going.

Drag00n79

I always feel that Defoe might be 'high maintenance' to manage. He comes across to me as a very arrogant individual, so I would not be happy with us spending anywhere near £20m on him. As for Larsson, I thought he had already made his mind up on going back to play in Sweden.

rondeco

no its all cover for a switch for king. King hasn't been in the spurs squad for the last two games with the club claiming its a groin injury but expect a development soon with regards to cisse and spurs methinks. Esp when cisse threw his jersey to the fans at the end of the derby.

Drag00n79

rondeco wrote:

no its all cover for a switch for king. King hasn't been in the spurs squad for the last two games with the club claiming its a groin injury

I think he is actually injured. They released a statement a couple of days ago that he might be back for the match vs Villa (21 January).

Jesper

Daniel Agger for £5.5 nearly €9m. Very expensive for a defender untested at the highest levels. On the international team he is used as a winger more than a full back but that is a good defensive team. Great scoring ratio for a defender though.

therecklessone

rondeco wrote:

no its all cover for a switch for king. King hasn't been in the spurs squad for the last two games with the club claiming its a groin injury but expect a development soon with regards to cisse and spurs methinks. Esp when cisse threw his jersey to the fans at the end of the derby.

Keep dreaming.

King limped off against Birmingham, then missed our defeat to WBA and our win against Newcastle. He misses tonight's game at Citeh, the FA Cup game @ Leicester and most probably the away trip @ Liverpool.

Spurs don't need to sell anyone, so why would we risk dropping points over the Xmas and an exit from the Cup just to keep King fit for a transfer to Liverpool?

Liverpool do not have the money to buy Ledley King.

Drag00n79

therecklessone wrote:

Liverpool do not have the money to buy Ledley King.

How much are you expecting him to go for?

therecklessone

Shamrok wrote:

How much are you expecting him to go for?

£15m minimum.

rondeco

therecklessone wrote:

Keep dreaming.

why would we risk dropping points over the Xmas and an exit from the Cup just to keep King fit for a transfer to Liverpool?

Liverpool do not have the money to buy Ledley King.

:rolleyes: Its not that you would be keeping him fit for us which is a bit ridiculous but maybe Jol wants to integrate a new player into the team asap. The rumour I've heard is that a swap deal is the proposed idea regarding cisse and a small amount of cash. Therefore being able to afford him. And can you explain how you know we dont have the money to buy him? Intriguing..

Tusky

rondeco wrote:

And can you explain how you know we dont have the money to buy him? Intriguing..

aye.

therecklessone

rondeco wrote:

:rolleyes: Its not that you would be keeping him fit for us which is a bit ridiculous but maybe Jol wants to integrate a new player into the team asap.

Yes, integrate a new player...

So we drop him for two games (WBA away and Newcastle at home) when we have yet to sign a new player? Makes sense...:rolleyes:

Anthony Gardner has been King's deputy at Spurs, and he's supposed to be on his way to Charlton (resurrecting a deal that fell through when he failed a medical in the Summer), but even if he stays, its not as if Jol doesn't know what he's capable of.

rondeco wrote:

The rumour I've heard is that a swap deal is the proposed idea regarding cisse and a small amount of cash. Therefore being able to afford him.

And the rumour I've heard is that Liverpool have offered a straight swap of Cisse for Defoe. Therefore King ain't for sale???

rondeco wrote:

And can you explain how you know we dont have the money to buy him? Intriguing..

I've no intimate knowledge of Liverpool's finances, but here's a few questions...

What is the most Rafa has spent on a player since joining?
What is the most he's spent on in a particular trasnfer window?
How much did Michael Owen go to Newcastle for?

Now tell me what is there to suggest that Liverpool would part with £15m for one player.

Finally, tell me why Spurs would swap their club captain, and best CB, for a striker?

PHB

Liverpool can't afford to spend 15 million on a defender which isn't their main problem

I'm sure they could get the cash, but it would limit their other signings.

Tusky

therecklessone wrote:

What is the most Rafa has spent on a player since joining?
What is the most he's spent on in a particular trasnfer window?
How much did Michael Owen go to Newcastle for?

Now tell me what is there to suggest that Liverpool would part with £15m for one player.

Finally, tell me why Spurs would swap their club captain, and best CB, for a striker?

15M minus the cost of Cisse....also, he refused to buy Owen because they were charging twice what Liverpool had sold him for, simple as.

rondeco

therecklessone wrote:

Yes, integrate a new player...

So we drop him for two games (WBA away and Newcastle at home) when we have yet to sign a new player? Makes sense...:rolleyes:

Anthony Gardner has been King's deputy at Spurs, and he's supposed to be on his way to Charlton (resurrecting a deal that fell through when he failed a medical in the Summer), but even if he stays, its not as if Jol doesn't know what he's capable of.



And the rumour I've heard is that Liverpool have offered a straight swap of Cisse for Defoe. Therefore King ain't for sale???



I've no intimate knowledge of Liverpool's finances, but here's a few questions...

What is the most Rafa has spent on a player since joining?
What is the most he's spent on in a particular trasnfer window?
How much did Michael Owen go to Newcastle for?

Now tell me what is there to suggest that Liverpool would part with £15m for one player.

Finally, tell me why Spurs would swap their club captain, and best CB, for a striker?

Right I seem to need to explain myself further. A new player or substitute must develop a relationship with the defensive unit so that they can operate to the best of their ability. Why continue with a player who is leaving(rumour only, relax!)

Alonso for 10m.
Owen to newcastle for 17m More than twice rafa sold him for.
last summer he bought crouch for 7m, reina for 8m sissoko for 5m, and the january before that morientes for 6m.

Added with the fact that we have a new sponsorship deal from adidas apparently worth 10m a season and rumoured investment from the kraft family in the club, I'd say our finances are pretty damn good atm and that rafa will pay the price he sees fit to pay.

Finally, if a player wants to move to a bigger club, say like the european champions , then how are you gonna keep him...
Also remember importantly that this is only a rumour.

Most important of all though...we won it five times.

Chardee MacDennis

whats this adidas deal>? i heard we had a new carlsberg deal after the cl but we're still with reebok for another couple of years.

Drag00n79

Adidas agreed to a 'friendly takeover' of Reebok last summer worth $3.8billion. [FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Adidas will pay Liverpool £10million-a-year over the next 3 years with a further option of a 10-year-deal once that deal concludes in 2009. And if they take up the 10-year option in 2009, Liverpool should net around £130million as a result. I always liked Adidas stuff! [/FONT]

PiE

This King rumour is nonsense. Nevermind the idiocy of Spurs selling their captain, why would Rafa buy a centre back of King's stature when Hyypia and Carragher are undroppable? He's already done the right thing in signing a couple of young defensive backup players in Kromkamp and Agger. Any other transfers this window will be to bolster the right side of midfield.

rondeco

hyppia undroppable? I dont agree unfortunately. I believe that hyppia is on his last legs. His pace is diminishing rapidly and he is coming to the end. Definitely his last season as first choice i think.

Tusky

rondeco wrote:

hyppia undroppable? I dont agree unfortunately. I believe that hyppia is on his last legs. His pace is diminishing rapidly and he is coming to the end. Definitely his last season as first choice i think.

I agree. He needs to be rested occasionally at the very least. Hes not as sharp as he once was.

PiE

Do you think Ledley King, in this World Cup year, would be happy to wait until next season before replacing Hyppia? There's no way Rafa will drop Hyppia this season unless he has a serious loss of form. He's bought the younger backup players to have cover when Sami needs a rest, thus enabling him to see out at least this season as first choice center back.

3 defenders in the January window? Having a laugh.

rondeco

PiE wrote:

Do you think Ledley King, in this World Cup year, would be happy to wait until next season before replacing Hyppia? There's no way Rafa will drop Hyppia this season unless he has a serious loss of form. He's bought the younger backup players to have cover when Sami needs a rest, thus enabling him to see out at least this season as first choice center back.

3 defenders in the January window? Having a laugh.

No, King is good enough to go straight in. Rotation is the key word with rafa. The only reason hyppia and carra play so much is because there is noone to come in. Its still only rumour about king and highly unlikely but I've learned not to try and figure out rafa's movements in the transfer market. 3 defenders is possible. We would then have quality cover for the two full backs and centre halves.

Chardee MacDennis

at valencia apparently rafa kept his 2 Centre backs and goalkeeper the same whenever they were fit. so i thinkg those two are his set 3 players no matter what...

therecklessone

rondeco wrote:

Right I seem to need to explain myself further. A new player or substitute must develop a relationship with the defensive unit so that they can operate to the best of their ability. Why continue with a player who is leaving(rumour only, relax!)

And I'm telling you Gardner doesn't not need to develop a relationship with the team. Listen to a Spurs Season Ticket holder for once. He started our first 5 games this season. He's played in out first team dozens of times. And I'm perfectly relaxed ta very much.

rondeco wrote:

Alonso for 10m.
Owen to newcastle for 17m More than twice rafa sold him for.
last summer he bought crouch for 7m, reina for 8m sissoko for 5m, and the january before that morientes for 6m.

So nobody over £10m then?

rondeco wrote:

Added with the fact that we have a new sponsorship deal from adidas apparently worth 10m a season and rumoured investment from the kraft family in the club, I'd say our finances are pretty damn good atm and that rafa will pay the price he sees fit to pay.

I'm not denying Liverpool have money to spend,njust not £15m on one player in a position that isn't #1 priority.

rondeco wrote:

Finally, if a player wants to move to a bigger club, say like the european champions , then how are you gonna keep him...

Simple. He doesn't move. You aren't Chelsea, you don't have their pull.

rondeco wrote:

Also remember importantly that this is only a rumour.

A rumour I'm dispelling now, once and for all.

p.pete

PiE wrote:

This King rumour is nonsense. Nevermind the idiocy of Spurs selling their captain, why would Rafa buy a centre back of King's stature when Hyypia and Carragher are undroppable? He's already done the right thing in signing a couple of young defensive backup players in Kromkamp and Agger. Any other transfers this window will be to bolster the right side of midfield.

Spot on.
Adding King to the Carragher Hyypia pairing is ridiculous. Introducing a central defensive rotation half way through a season. Spending 15m (on the therecklessone's assumptions) on a defender is ridiculous, unless they're some kind of Rio Ferdinand or something , Rafa spending that money is even more unlikely.

The Defoe / Cisse swap thing intrigues me but I'm not sure it'd be good. Cisse has repeatedly said he's happy at Liverpool and I can't see Defoe wanting to move North, or Rafa wanting to work with the guy.

Next target is a right sided midfielder, get someone good there and Gerrard moves back to the centre

woodyg

The King deal is a rumour and thats it! Its the usual stuff ya hear this time of the year mainly tabloid generated tripe.

Liverpool will look to bring in a young center back or a foreign experienced center back. Agar and a pick from either the Deportivo pair or the Argentine pair as previously mentioned.

The main area that will be strenghtend is right midfield.
Most Likey Simao from Benfica espicially now that they have signed Robert and are looking to get Dudek from us.
Simao in part exchange for Dudek plus money is the most likey deal.

Cisse is going no where till at least the Summer.
If Rafa wants him out it will be after the world cup where he can maximise the price Cisse would get.

rondeco

BENITEZ IN 'BACK ME 'PLEA TO REDS
By Martin Lipton
LIVERPOOL boss Rafa Benitez has fired a warning shot across the bows of the Anfield board by urging them to prove their commitment to his blueprint for success.

Benitez believes he is finally beginning to turn the club around, with last term's Champions League glory the springboard for a potential top two Premiership finish.

But while the Spaniard is happy that the Liverpool hierarchy have bought into his vision for overhauling the club on and off the pitch, he still harbours doubts over their willingness to fund his rebuilding plans.

Benitez was frustrated when defender target Nemanja Vidic escaped his clutches and joined Manchester United in a £7.2million move from Spartak Moscow.

The Liverpool boss, who now hopes to land Brondby's Daniel Agger, believed that he would have enticed the Serbian defender to Merseyside if the club had moved more swiftly, rather than letting the matter drift.

And now Benitez has used the Spanish custom of exchanging presents on King's Day, which falls tomorrow, to go public with his demands.

Benitez said: "What I would like for King's Day is for my bosses to behave in exactly the same respectful manner towards me that they have been doing so far.


"But what I also would like to see is an extra effort to get what I need to improve the team."


That was a clear message to the board and chief executive Rick Parry to deliver during this month's transfer window, with Benfica's Portuguese winger Simao Sabrosa the other prime target.


Benitez has been desperate for a genuine winger since last season.


And with his Anfield stock at an all-time high after the doubts of the autumn were brushed away by an 11-game unbeaten streak and qualification as group winners ahead of Chelsea for the Champions League knock-out stage, Benitez is determined to let the fans know where any blame for failing to press on should be directed.

Scott Carson is praying for the chance this weekend to revive his Anfield career.

The England Under-21 keeper - whose progress has been hampered by the signing of Spanish stopper Jose Reina - is desperate to get the nod for Saturday's FA Cup clash at Luton. His last first team game was in the Carling Cup humiliation at Crystal Palace.


from the mirror.

rondeco

woodyg wrote:

The King deal is a rumour and thats it! Its the usual stuff ya hear this time of the year mainly tabloid generated tripe.

Liverpool will look to bring in a young center back or a foreign experienced center back. Agar and a pick from either the Deportivo pair or the Argentine pair as previously mentioned.

The main area that will be strenghtend is right midfield.
Most Likey Simao from Benfica espicially now that they have signed Robert and are looking to get Dudek from us.
Simao in part exchange for Dudek plus money is the most likey deal.

Cisse is going no where till at least the Summer.
If Rafa wants him out it will be after the world cup where he can maximise the price Cisse would get.

I agree. Apparently agger deal is done and dusted now and simao deal is nearing completion.

Vokes

woodyg wrote:

The main area that will be strenghtend is right midfield.
Most Likey Simao from Benfica espicially now that they have signed Robert and are looking to get Dudek from us.
Simao in part exchange for Dudek plus money is the most likey deal.

Yes, id see this as the most likely. And i dont think think Dudek has played in Europe yet, has he? Which would make him available for the Benefica-'Pool game.

Big Nelly

SofaKing wrote:

Yes, id see this as the most likely. And i dont think think Dudek has played in Europe yet, has he? Which would make him available for the Benefica-'Pool game.

No Bene would never put him in squad or in bench even in qualifiers to make sure he could sell, the same as Baros. Both left in stands. Dudek got an injury before they could sell on.

p.pete

I'm not sure about Simao, if he was fit maybe...
I think the price was reasonable when we tried to sign him in the summer but apparently it's gone up by two mil and united are interested and etc etc etc.

I've no idea if united are interested in him or who they're after but my guess is that those reports are being thrown about to try increase the price. Haven't heard anything from Liverpool lately in terms of interest and if anything I'd say we're less interested now then we were before.

Having said that, I wouldn't mind seeing Dudek depart. He's a decent keeper but no use keeping him as a third choice, he deserves better. If he can be part exchange for a decent right winger then that's excellent.

Shred

rondeco wrote:

BENITEZ IN 'BACK ME 'PLEA TO REDS
And now Benitez has used the Spanish custom of exchanging presents on King's Day, which falls tomorrow, to go public with his demands.

Benitez said: "What I would like for King's Day is for my bosses to behave in exactly the same respectful manner towards me that they have been doing so far.

"But what I also would like to see is an extra effort to get what I need to improve the team."
from the mirror.

That Mirror article is rubbish, they have purposely sensationalised a quote from an interview Rafa gave in December (I saw this on RAWK, 8th question down in the AS article):

http://www.as.com/articulo.html?d_date=20060102&xref=20060102dasdaiftb_41&type=Tes&anchor=dasftb

basically translates as...

Santa Claus is giving you the chance to ask for a wish to your Liverpool bosses....

I would ask that they continue as they have been, respecting our work, and that they make a small effort to get the players to complete the team.

Benitez keeps his cards close to his chest & is respectful always, he's hardly going to come out and say something like that:rolleyes:

redspider

Good to see the Kromkamp deal going ahead and Josemi's departure. That should give a few more options but it will be important that Kromkamp when he does play can add to the team's performance or cover a role to the same level, such as RB or Central defence, or even in midfield. Is he a better midfielder than Sissoko, for example? It will be interesting to see if he gets a run out there.

Paul Anderson from Hull City is on the way. He is only 17, but how good is he? Is he just a "bet" for the future, like John Welsh was, who is now going the other way in exchange for Anderson?

In terms of the £5.5m attempted bid for Brondby centre-back Daniel Agger, he cant be as good as say Carragher, and although Hyypia is slow, this buy is a back-up purchase I suspect as neither Josemi nor Whitbread could fulfill a CB role sufficiently for Benitez's criteria.

Sabrosa is being targeted again, but overall, so far so good in the transfer market, although in the Jan window with a world cup coming up, it remains to be seen if any major trading will be done. There is likely to be a lot of movement before, during and after the world cup "shop window".

redspider

Shred

With regards to Simao/Agger, here's the latest accroding to the Echo:

Benitez cool on Simao move

LIVERPOOL have cooled their interest in Benfica winger Simao Sabrosa - as Daniel Agger took a step closer to leaving Brondby today.

Rafa Benitez is not planning a fresh approach for Portuguese international Simao, despite making a £10m bid for the right winger last summer.

Benfica's signing of Laurent Robert has increased speculation Simao will leave the Stadium of Light, and Liverpool are his first choice.

But despite claims Liverpool are back in the bidding, there's no prospect of Benitez reigniting his efforts at this stage, unless Benfica substantially reduce their asking price for the 26-year-old.

Benitez's transfer priorities have altered since August and he's not prepared to allocate a large chunk of his funds on the player.

The Spanish boss is also reluctant to engage in long negotiations to conclude a deal which wasted precious time last summer and ultimately ended in disappointment.

He feels other avenues will prove more fruitful.

While the pursuit of a right winger remains on hold, Danish centre-half Agger has been pulled out of a weekend indoor tournament in Brondby as his club gave the first indication they expect a deal with Liverpool to be concluded imminently.

Both Agger and his chief executive have now returned from holiday, and the Reds will step up negotiations to sign the 21-year-old today.

Benitez is hoping for a swift conclusion over the next 48 hours.

http://icliverpool.icnetwork.co.uk/0500liverpoolfc/0100news/tm_objectid=16549795%26method=full%26siteid=50061%26headline=benitez-cool-on-simao-move-name_page.html

I'm glad to see Rafa's not having any of Benfica's rubbish of saying united are interested just to bump the price up. Personally I hope Liverpool (if they do buy him) don't pay any more than £8 for him as I don't think he's worth it.

StickyMcGinty

i dont know why hes cooling interest in simao to be honest, agger is a CB we could still to with a right midfielder.

how much is his jan budget anyway, i've heard 20 million floating around, which would be more than enough for agger and simao

zAbbo

http://home.skysports.com/transfernews.asp?type=article&id=350459

Another defender in the mix, and may be purchased as he has connections with Rafa and could come at a good price considering his contract is up soon.

Not keen on Simao as he's cup tied for champs league, and Benfica can go whistle after their summer antics.

Shred

Exactly, why would Liverpool want to pay two million more for a player who's now cup tied for the champs lge and is still unproven in the premiership. If they weren't willing to pay more than £8m in August why would they want to do so 6 months later.

Tusky

Whys he buying so many defenders...

Big Nelly

Tusky wrote:

Whys he buying so many defenders...

More likely that he has money and the press/sky know he has so every player is going to be linked. Especially is a defender/ring winger comes on market or half the time they dont even have to come on market for press(Sun etc)

Same is happening with Pompey. Go to any sports website and the majority of the stories are Pompey/Liverpool/Man Uted. Nothing on Arsenal or the other majority of the rest of the league

p.pete

Tusky wrote:

Whys he buying so many defenders...

Agger and Kromkamp in, Josemi out, so we're up one central defender which we needed and we've hopefully improved on another.

The article linked to by zabbo indicates Aurelio coming in could mean Traore going out - again the balance defender in and out would be the same but hopefully another position strengthened, if it's in any way true.

What he's doing so far I think has been both sensible and positive.

galwaydude

i indeed hope the rumours are true and rafa does replace traore.The guy is not good enough for liverpool and he makes too many mistakes.

The future is looking alot brighter now with rafa in control and over the next few years we will see the likes of barragan, antwi, hobbs, roque and idrizaj in the first team squad.

Chucky the tree

WE still need a 1st choice left back. dont think risse is good enough.

Dont be at yourself

Warnock's coming good, and I think Riise can do a job until he develops. It's certainly not our most pressing concern at the moment anyway.

mike65

Daniel Agger has agreed personal terms it seems (Danish tv).

Mike.

Guy:Incognito

PiE wrote:

This King rumour is nonsense. Nevermind the idiocy of Spurs selling their captain, .

Arsenal sold their captain, Utd sacked theirs (or mutual consent or whatever, the point is he left) and Liverpool were prepared to sell their captain two seasons running.

PHB

Which is relevant how?

Arsenals captain wanted to leave and did
Uniteds captain got sacked
Liverpools captain wanted to leave and didnt

King has never stated he wants to leaves
Spurs never stated they are willing to sell him

redspider

In one way, Benitez's signings at the back are showing his characteristic of playing it safe and being cautious. Even though Liverpool have one of the better defences in the top-flight, he is ensuring it remains that way.

Arguably, and I know that I've bleated on about it on many occasions, Liverpool's weak spot is the strike force, whether that is a wide attacking midfielder (left or right) and/or a central striker. Those areas I would think should be a priority rather than strengthening at the back with the Josemi/Kromkamp swap and bringing in Agger. A good defence is important though.

It looks like he prefers building a large squad size. That is a good tactic in terms of ensuring that a bad run of injuries do not have an impact, but it also requires that the many average players that are brought in must develop to be better. Its a chance that he has to take and hence he must buy many, and players of the range 4m to 8m (at current market values).

I would prefer to see some larger investments made, maybe players in the 10m-15m range. It looks like we wont see that and it remains to be seen whether 3 players at 5m are better than 1 at 15m.

At Right Back, I dont think Riise will develop much more and Warnock is likely to only do so slightly, unless he learns a lot, which so far there is no sign of him doing so. No-one will be shocked if Traore goes but at the moment he is ok cover for Warnock and Riise if (and only if) they are both injured. Why he plays Traore when they are not is beyond me, notwithstanding the fact that we have to recognise the positive contribution Traore made last season in the Cl run.

Benitez's zealousness to ensure the defence is strong is also seen by his purchases last season, with Reina, (when Dudek, Kirlkland and Carson would be seen by many premiership teams to be more than adequate) and also by the investments in Josemi and Pellegrino. These investments are eating into Liverpool's funds but I fear that the way its going to be with Benitez, and of course it must be an approach that is backed up by the board, Moore and Parry.

redspider

Tusky

I have to say it baffles me a little. Strengthening the defensive positions is all well and good but they are not top priority. First and foremost Liverpool need a right winger so they can play their best player in his best position. You cant dispure this! I think he should also be buying a striker before these defenders...

who knows, maybe he will surprise us and buy a right winger or a striker before the transfer window ends...but after the money he has already spent, its not gonna be a big name transfer.

p.pete

Tusky wrote:

who knows, maybe he will surprise us and buy a right winger or a striker before the transfer window ends...but after the money he has already spent, its not gonna be a big name transfer.

Hopefully, but ultimately I hope he gets someone good rather then someone soon. Sounds like we came close to getting Figo in the Summer and then Simao, after that there wasn't much time left. I'm sure he's working on several options as we speak, maybe nothing will come of it before the window closes but hopefully it does.

In terms of the money spent already, what money is that? I haven't heard any fee for Kromkamp so I'm of the hope that it's a straight swap (which is excellent business). After that there's the fee for Agger should he arrive, and that's money we had always planned to spend on a central defender anyway. I'd reckon there's the guts of 10m to spend after that, but it'll only be spent if the right option is available.