Liverpool and Villa finally agree £19m deal for Gareth Barry

[Stephen]

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-1039828/INSIDER-EXCLUSIVE-Liverpool-Villa-finally-agree-19m-deal-Gareth-Barry-England-star-secures-Anfield-move.html

INSIDER EXCLUSIVE: Liverpool and Villa finally agree £19m deal for Gareth Barry as England star secures his Anfield move
 By Simon Jones
 
Liverpool have drawn a line under the summer's longest-running transfer saga after finalising a £19m deal for Aston Villa midfielder Gareth Barry.
Fresh from concluding a £20million deal for Spurs striker Robbie Keane, the Anfield club have held further talks with Villa and The Insider understands that they have reached agreement on a £17.5m cash offer plus defender Steve Finnan.

The move is no surprise but the timing is, as Liverpool have still to sell to raise the relevant funds but know they have offers on the table for Jermaine Pennant and Yossi Benayoun.
Further interest has also been expressed in Andriy Voronin, Alvaro Arbeloa and Xabi Alonso.
Benitez made public his first bid for Aston Villa midfielder Barry in May and incurred the wrath of Villa boss Martin O'Neill.

Barry then confirmed he wanted to leave and criticised O'Neill for a lack of communication.That outburst saw the England playmaker fined and banned by the club.

Four bids from the Reds were rejected by the midlands club, who were holding out for £18m, before a*senal reportedly became involved in the race for the England man. 

The 27-year-old, who scored 36 goals in 327 appearances for Villa, was booed when he turned out for Villa in a pre-season game but the crowd appeared fully behind him when he came on as substitute in the Intertoto Cup match against Odense last Saturday.

[Stephen]

If this is true then I am extremely happy with Rafa's work this summer. It is quite obvious that the premier league is No. 1 priority this year. Barry and Keane are two of the very top players in the premier league over the last 5 or 6 years.

I believe we will now see the Alonso leave. I'll be sorry to see him go but his performances in the Premier League never returned to the level of his first season. I think when he was closed down quickly he struggled and hence would do very well in Italy or somewhere where he is given more time on the ball and the pace of the game is a bit slower.
 

[Durgs]

Echo suggests its not as clear cut as the Daily Mail suggests.

http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/liverpool-fc/liverpool-fc-news/2008/07/30/liverpool-fc-in-fresh-talks-over-gareth-barry-100252-21435805/

Liverpool FC in fresh talks over Gareth Barry
Jul 30 2008 Liverpool Echo

FRESH talks are under way between Liverpool and Aston Villa to thrash out Gareth Barry’s proposed move to Anfield, the Echo understands.

Rafa Benitez has lined up England international Barry as one of the key summer targets to strengthen his squad in a bid to launch a strong Premier League title challenge in the forthcoming season.

The Midlands club have already rejected several bids by the Reds to prise their captain from Villa Park.

The Echo also understands, however, that reports that a deal has been completed are premature.

[Gurdeep]

.....his performances in the Premier League never returned to the level of his first season.

Spot on mate!

[Stephen]

I suspected that the Mail were jumping the gun here. They are hardly the most reliable source. However, it does look very close now and Rafa has obviously been given the go ahead to pay the necessary transfer fee.

[martin]

I for one will be sad to see Alonso go. He is a much more talented footballer than Barry will ever be, HOWEVER, in the premier league it isn't a bad move as Barry has proved he is adept at playing English football. The best was to come from Alonso though. Anyway, he has n't been sold yet! (probably will though)

[Gurdeep]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/a/aston_villa/7533851.stm

 

[PhilLFC]

well as it stands at the moment, the deal has been called off!!! i think we should go back to sitting on our hands again. Read into this what you want

[the dude abides]

Martin says it's finished.

It's interesting the silence so far from Rafa and the player himself.

I suspect that Rafa knows exactly how to play his hand.  If we miss out on Barry, it's probably because Rafa thinks he can get better value say in bringing in someone like Silva.

[Durgs]

Spot on Dude.

The most up to date reports suggest the "deadline" has been passed and he is to remain a Villa player.
I reckon Rafa has some extra targets and, if this "deadline" has passed, who else could we get for £18mil plus? Silva? maybe someone who could ADD something to the squad as opposed to someone who will add to an already crowded centre midfield position or 2, depending on what formation we play. Or even at the expense of a midfielder of comparible quality i.e. Alonso

I'm relativly happy with our acquisitions so far and more than happy that alot of deadwood has been sold or set free (Bye Bye Kewell!)

Maybe one more transfer to make us excited about the forthcoming season and i'll be happy.

[skippy]

Maybe Rafa has decided to keep Alonso and sell Pennant Yossi and Voronin and use the money to buy another player in a different position.

[the dude abides]

I'm relativly happy with our acquisitions so far and more than happy that alot of deadwood has been sold or set free (Bye Bye Kewell!)

Maybe one more transfer to make us excited about the forthcoming season and i'll be happy.

totally agree, Durgs.

The reports coming out today, suggest we missed the deadline by as little as 15 minutes......due to getting the payment arrangements in place. 

Personally, I have a strong vibe that the Barry issue is far from settled. 

[skippy]

I heard on 5 live that the deal is not dead and we are still expected to sign him. If we signed Barry and now that we have Keane what do you think the line up is likely to be?

[PhilLFC]

I don´t understand, this is a Transfer Window can Clubs do this or not, or if as in this case, can the player then force the issue and demand that the club let him move on, FFS, the clubs had already agreed the fee, just the repayment was left outstanding!! makes me angry!!! Villa have acted like a 2nd rate club i hope they get relegated this season

[SuperSkrtel]

Think this is going to rumble on and on until it's inevitable conclusion just hope that conclusion does'nt mean we lose Xabi still think he has a hell of a lot to offer as a player