January transfer thread.

[the dude abides]

I don't know which I find harder to believe, Real Madrid wanting Pennant (the article itself), or if true, Pennant's crass stupidity.

So he wants an extra £1.5m a year? What sort of wages and signing on fee does he think he is going to get if he goes on a free in the Summer? How many of the clubs that are realistically going to be interested in him are going to match the wages we pay him?

He's been offered a chance to stay in 'the big time' and he's totally blown it. Just how much J.D has he been consuming?

I thought the same as you initially, Tes.

but think about it - he's gonna be a reserve for real madrid....and on the same wages as at liverpool.

it's hardly a move upwards, whatever way you look at it.

I don't like the way he has held out for big wages, re stoke and other clubs who were interested this summer.   But after thinking about it, I can see why he has turned down real madrid.

[Martin28]

Glad it fell through. Imagine the insight he would have given them, ahead of our champions league game? If Pennant was interested in playing footie, he would have been away in the summer. Money is more important to the lad. A wasted talent.

[the dude abides]

we've supposedly already agreed to sign portsmouth defender Glen Johnson....for 9 million quid.

According to media reports, the lad has already been given a tour of Melwood before the Xmas holidays.

I can't say I have ever been impressed by him.....either pre-chelsea, with chelsea, or after chelsea (when at portsmouth).

Maybe Rafa can work his magic on him...

[Tes]

Balague on the Glenn Johnson 'possibility':

http://www.guillembalague.com/rumores_desp.php?titulo=No%20Liverpool%20medical%20for%20Glen%20Johnson&id=142

So Santa didn't bring Rafa a new contract, maybe the Easter Bunny will?

[Tes]

Agger to Milan, again:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-1105623/AC-Milan-ready-pay-odds-tie-8-5m-deal-Liverpool-defender-Agger.html?ITO=1490

So which f@ckwit agreed to the £7M clause, if true? 

[Tes]

Walcott?:

http://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/2009/01/05/arsenal-could-lose-theo-walcott-for-just-400-000-115875-21016256/

Yes, please.

[iskoppa]

Balague on the Glenn Johnson 'possibility':

http://www.guillembalague.com/rumores_desp.php?titulo=No%20Liverpool%20medical%20for%20Glen%20Johnson&id=142

So Santa didn't bring Rafa a new contract, maybe the Easter Bunny will?

Glen who!  and if the Easter Bunny don't know, we could always ask the tooth fairy! 

[Tes]

Glen who!  and if the Easter Bunny don't know, we could always ask the tooth fairy! 

Now that's just silly, we all know the tooth fairy doesn't exist (according to the elves at the bottom of my garden).

[the dude abides]

Agger to Milan, again:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-1105623/AC-Milan-ready-pay-odds-tie-8-5m-deal-Liverpool-defender-Agger.html?ITO=1490

So which f@ckwit agreed to the £7M clause, if true? 

if Agger, only 24 years old, has turned down 75 thousand a week, then he can p**s off.  But forget the 8.5 million offer for this window...keep him and take the 7 million in the summer.

The lad seems to have ideas above his station.  Playing for Liverpool obviously doesn't do it for him. 

[Juan]

if Agger, only 24 years old, has turned down 75 thousand a week, then he can p**s off.  But forget the 8.5 million offer for this window...keep him and take the 7 million in the summer.

The lad seems to have ideas above his station.  Playing for Liverpool obviously doesn't do it for him. 

Agreed Dude, if the reports coming out on Agger are to be believed the guy has either had his head turned by Milan, doesnt like Anfield life or is using Milans apparent interest to add a few extra k's to his contract.

Either way as much as I like Agger the situation is starting to get old.

On another note it seems Jermaine having apparently botched up a move to Madrid is now being targeted by Milan on a free transfer.

http://www.skysports.com/story/0,19528,12876_4754605,00.html

I have to stay he may be a jack daniels drinking party going bench warmer, although he hasnt even been warming the bench this season but I reckon this guy has more to offer than he is being  allowed the chance to show. At this satge Rafa has just frozen him out, which for me is a great pitty because even as a sub/squad player I think he still has alot to offer.

[Tes]

Agreed Dude, if the reports coming out on Agger are to be believed the guy has either had his head turned by Milan, doesnt like Anfield life or is using Milans apparent interest to add a few extra k's to his contract.

Either way as much as I like Agger the situation is starting to get old.

On another note it seems Jermaine having apparently botched up a move to Madrid is now being targeted by Milan on a free transfer.

http://www.skysports.com/story/0,19528,12876_4754605,00.html

I have to stay he may be a jack daniels drinking party going bench warmer, although he hasnt even been warming the bench this season but I reckon this guy has more to offer than he is being  allowed the chance to show. At this satge Rafa has just frozen him out, which for me is a great pitty because even as a sub/squad player I think he still has alot to offer.

Doesn't Parry run the administrative side of the playing staff well? It's no surprise Rafa wants more control (may not include this side of things but it probably should). 

[iskoppa]

Now that's just silly, we all know the tooth fairy doesn't exist (according to the elves at the bottom of my garden).

Don't knock it Tes, they believe in the little people here in Iceland!
The only person leaving this month will be a certain Mr Pennant on loan me thinks!
As for a new signing, Liverpool now have a Icelandic player by the name of Victor Palsson, according to his uncle who works with me and by all accounts he's pretty good, we shall see!

[Tes]

Probably more 'way off' speculation:

Hughes lines up Keane to ease Robinho transfer worry

   
Independent.ie  WebSearch  By Jason Burt

Saturday January 24 2009

Robinho will demand to know which players Manchester City will sign before the end of the January transfer window when he meets manager Mark Hughes on Monday.

One of them may well be Robbie Keane with Hughes thought to be ready to table a £20million bid for the Irish striker, £5m more than his former club Tottenham were thought to be offering.

City have already signed Wayne Bridge for more than £11m, Craig Bellamy for £14m and Nigel de Jong for £17m and intend to add to their squad further. The most likely targets remain Roque Santa Cruz, who would cost at least £20m, and £10m-rated Shay Given, while a central defender is also required.

Whether this will be enough to convince the Brazilian -- who celebrates his 25th birthday tomorrow -- of the club's ambitions is open to doubt. Robinho is due to return to training with the rest of the first-team squad after which he will hold talks with Hughes about his recent actions with the striker facing punishment after walking out on the club's training camp in Tenerife and flying home to Brazil.

Robinho later apologised while also insisting the row was a mix-up -- he thought he been granted leave -- and he had to return to South America to deal with personal issues, although sources close to him confirmed earlier this week that he also wanted to attend birthday celebrations in Santos.

It's also understood that Robinho is not happy at City and is aware of the desire of Chelsea manager Luiz Felipe Scolari, who was devastated to miss out on the player last summer, to bring him to Stamford Bridge. It's expected that Hughes will tell Robinho that deals to sign two of the club's targets are close and hope to be tied up soon after their next game at home to Newcastle on Wednesday. (© Independent News Service)

- Jason Burt



http://www.independent.ie/sport/soccer/hughes-lines-up-keane-to--ease-robinho-transfer-worry-1613244.html

[Tes]

Keane to Citeh link resurfaces:

Spurs and Manchester City looking at Liverpool FC's Robbie Keane
Jan 27 2009 by Chris Beesley, Daily Post

MANCHESTER CITY and Tottenham are poised to offer Robbie Keane an escape route from Anfield – but Liverpool will not sanction a move to Everton.

With the Blues in the market for a striker and Keane out of favour with Rafael Benitez, speculation has been growing that David Moyes could launch an audacious loan swoop for the Irish international who he targeted during his time at White Hart Lane.

However, despite a leading Irish bookmaker making Everton 5-2 favourites to become Keane’s next club, Liverpool would not allow such a high-profile recent signing to join their rivals, while the Blues would have to break their pay structure to afford the player.

A more likely destination for Keane is Mark Hughes’ City or a return to his former employers Spurs.

After missing out on AC Milan’s Brazilian star Kaka with a world record offer of more than £100m, Manchester City have cash to burn and although they are yet to make a formal approach for Keane, club officials insist their interest is genuine.

Tottenham manager Harry Redknapp arrived at White Hart Lane after Keane’s £20m departure to Anfield and while he publicly claimed yesterday that he

sees any move for the player as being unrealistic, he is likely to move if City make a bid.

Redknapp, who has already brought Jermain Defoe back to Tottenham this month from Portsmouth, said: “I wouldn’t sit here and say I wouldn’t like to have Robbie Keane at my football club, I’d be a liar, but he belongs to Liverpool so it is not an option unfortunately.

“As a player and a person I have a lot of time for Robbie Keane. I think he’s fantastic.”

Boyhood Liverpool fan Keane’s dream move to Anfield has become something of a nightmare as he has completed 90 minutes in just five of his 27 appearances to date.

Meanwhile, reports in the Danish Press quote Daniel Agger as claiming he is annoyed and frustrated at the slow pace of contract negotiations with Liverpool over a new deal.

Agger said: “The ball is with Liverpool right now. I haven’t heard anything from the club since the beginning of November. We have only had one meeting with Liverpool.

“At that meeting at the start of November I was told that the club would come back to me quickly but that hasn’t happened.

“Now there have been 12 weeks since we spoke together.”

Agger, who was the Reds’ most expensive defender when he joined, added: “It is an annoying situation and in principle it is a little bit frustrating not to get any messages especially when it has almost been three months.

“They were the ones who told me they wanted to come back quickly. Honestly, I don’t have any clue if they want to extent this contract.”



http://www.dailypost.co.uk/sport-news/liverpool-fc/2009/01/27/spurs-and-manchester-city-looking-at-liverpool-fc-s-robbie-keane-55578-22785458/

So if there's any truth in this, what about a Shaun Wright Phillips + cash? We still owe Spurs half the original fee approx and with Torres and Gerrard being the obvious combination, we could provide a real attacking threat and alternative to Kuyt on the right. We could also use Babbel as a direct replacement for Torres, should the need arise, and he's hardly been given a chance there in comparison to Keane and Kuyt and his performance against Chelsea shows what he can do, if his head is right.

It's not a case of giving up on Robbie but I think it could suit both us as a club and Robbie, whilst bringing in a player that could strengthen us in the attacking third of the pitch and hopefully boost our title challenge.

[Tes]

And so on it goes:

Rafa Benitez backs Robbie Keane for pivotal role at Liverpool FC

Jan 27 2009

Robbie Keane’s immediate future is at Liverpool as the Anfield club continue their stuttering chase for three major honours.

But when Keane returns to the squad at Wigan tomorrow for a crucial Barclays Premier League clash, he knows he must start to prove that his stay with the Reds can last for more than just the next few months.

The £20million Irish striker has been the subject of transfer speculation ever since boss Rafael Benitez left him out of the 18-man squad for Sunday’s FA Cup fourth-round draw with Everton.

Tottenham, Manchester City, Newcastle and even Everton have been linked with the 28-year-old who has struggled to hold down a first-team place since moving from Spurs last summer.

Benitez significantly stopped short of saying that Keane was not for sale today when he revealed that after two days of "excellent" training, the striker was back in the squad for the JJB Stadium.

The nagging feeling remains, however, that if Benitez could get his money back on Keane and buy a replacement, then the Republic of Ireland captain would be on the market.

But with the transfer window closing next Monday and Benitez not interested in any player-plus-cash offer from Spurs - which would take into account the money the Merseysiders still owe for the player - Keane looks certain to stay at the club until the end of the season.

Benitez said: "Everyone is now important for us. We have a lot of games to play in the coming weeks, in the league, cup and Europe.

"We will need everyone. People may not always play but two weeks later we may have an injury and then we need them.

"Everyone, including Robbie, is training well. He has experience and hopefully he will be an important player for us.

"When Fernando Torres was injured, Robbie was working hard and doing well. If he can continue to do this we will not have any doubts over his quality."

Benitez revealed Torres is now training normally after his persistent hamstring problems, but if the Spanish striker was to break down again after the transfer window had closed, Keane would become a vital player over the final months of the season.

That fact alone will surely dissuade Benitez from selling him now.

"People are talking too much about Keane. It was just one decision about one player, he wasn’t in the squad," Benitez said.

"He had a day off on Sunday like the rest of the players who were not involved in the game. He trained on Monday, he trained today and he will be in the squad at Wigan.

"It is nothing to do with whether he talked to me about the situation. Every player has trained very hard this week, as has Robbie, and he will be in the squad.

"He will be in the squad and if he can score goals then I will be happy.

"He is expensive and high profile, yes. But Manchester United have bought plenty of players who cost £20m or more every single year. Sometimes more than one player. But nothing is said about them being left out.

"If you want to be in a top side then you must have this mentality. You have to accept that some players will play and some will not."

Benitez added: "Robbie is a good player, we knew that when we signed him. Maybe he is not playing at his best level, but he wants to fight for his position.

"He must be available and ready for every game. To do that he must work hard and then if we consider he can give us something then we will use him, no problem.

"And I will be very pleased if Robbie can score goals. There has been no row, he is just one more player in the squad. Nothing else is happening, we are just thinking of using him at Wigan."

The Spanish coach has no injury worries for the Latics game.

He said: "It doesn’t matter the name or the price, we have to think about the best player for each game.

"The manager and staff has to decide whether it is Torres, (Steven) Gerrard, (Dirk) Kuyt or Keane. We can see the players every single session.

"If we are to push for the title we will need all the players that we have now in the squad.

"A lot of clubs have been asking about some players, to buy or loan. But we have said we do not need to lose anyone, we do not need to sell anyone now.

"We do not want to lose players now if we cannot replace those players later. We need all of them for the race for the title."



http://www.liverpooldailypost.co.uk/liverpool-fc/liverpool-fc-news/2009/01/27/rafa-benitez-backs-robbie-keane-for-pivotal-role-at-liverpool-fc-64375-22791958/