Liverpool target Aston Villa winger

Liverpool have made Ashley Young their top target for the January transfer window and are confident they can land the Aston Villa winger, Goal.com UK can reveal.

The Reds face stern competition from Manchester United and Tottenham for the England international, who will cost around £14 million as his contract at Villa Park runs out in 18 months' time.

Manager Roy Hodgson has been driving the interest from Anfield as he looks to add British talent to the squad but Damien Comolli, the club's director of football strategy, also supports the move for a player who will add much-needed pace to the side.

Liverpool are ready to meet Young's wage demands of £75,000-a-week - or £3.9m a year - and will make an official approach to Villa when the transfer window opens. Insiders at Anfield claim the club are confident the former Watford man is keen on a move and they believe Villa may feel compelled to sell because of his contract situation.

Young, 25, currently earns £65,000-a-week but has refused to sign a new deal at the Midlands club and there have been suggestions that he would be prepared to run down his contract and leave for nothing in the summer of 2012.

Gerard Houllier, the Aston Villa manager, insists it would take "crazy money" for the Premier League strugglers to sell their prize asset - but owner Randy Lerner may feel differently as Young's value plummets as he runs down his contract.

Liverpool will press ahead with plans to sign Young despite being on the verge of signing Rennes winger Sylvain Marveaux, who was in the directors box for the 1-0 defeat to Wolves on Wednesday night.

This story has been reproduced from the media. It does not necessarily represent the position of Liverpool Football Club.

Sources: LiverpoolFC.tv, Goal.com

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Liverpool to sign another Dutchman from Hamburg

Eljero Elia could be on his way out of Bundesliga side Hamburg after Premier League outfit Liverpool expressed their interest in signing the Dutch international, according to a report in Hamburger Morgenpost.

Liverpool have been in disappointing form in the first half of the season and sit ninth in the table, and the club's new owners are believed to have earmarked Elia as the perfect winter signing, with personal terms reportedly already agreed.

The 23-year-old joined Hamburg from Twente in the summer of 2009 and impressed in his first season in Germany.

However, Hamburg coach Armin Veh isn't completely satisfied with Elia's performance this term and has benched the winger on more than one occasion.

Elia is far from happy with his current situation and could be on his way out of Hamburg in the January transfer window.

This story has been reproduced from the media. It does not necessarily represent the position of Liverpool Football Club.

Sources: LiverpoolFC.tv, Goal.com

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Liverpool leading the race for Germany centre-back

Liverpool are leading the race for Werder Bremen's World Cup star Per Mertesacker.

Mertesacker, the 26 year-old centre-back, is now on the Kop radar after director of football Damien Comolli made a personal check on him before Christmas. Bremen are prepared to sell the 26-year-old following their exit from the Champions League - but have told any interested clubs that the bidding will start at £10million.

Comolli watched Mertesacker in action as ­Werder suffered a 2-1 home defeat to Kaiserslautern on December 18 in their final Bundesliga game before the German winter break.

He recommended Liverpool should make a move for the Germany international.

Mertesacker had an outstanding World Cup as Germany knocked out England before losing to eventual champions Spain in the semi-finals.

And he fits the player profile Comolli gave new Liverpool owners New England Sports Ventures when they decided to appoint him following their takeover in October.

At 26, Mertesacker is yet to enjoy the peak years of his career and would maintain his market value. He's been with Bremen since moving from hometown club Hannover 96 in a ­£3million deal in 2006.

This story has been reproduced from the media. It does not necessarily represent the position of Liverpool Football Club.

Sources: LiverpoolFC.tv, Sunday Mirror

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Liverpool to sign Rennes winger

Liverpool chief Damien Comolli hopes to sign Rennes winger Sylvain Marveaux to a pre-contract agreement in the coming days.

The Sunday Mirror says Marveaux watched Wednesday's defeat to Wolves from the directors box at Anfield and is free to negotiate with clubs because his contract with Rennes expires in the summer.

Liverpool's director of football strategy Comolli has targeted the former French Under-21 star and is pressing ahead with his attempts to sign him, despite the uncertainty over Roy Hodgson's future.

Marveaux could be signed this month, but the Reds are happy to wait until June so not having to pay a fee.

This story has been reproduced from the media. It does not necessarily represent the position of Liverpool Football Club.

Sources: LiverpoolFC.tv, TribalFootball

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Match Highlights: Liverpool 2-1 Bolton

Joe Cole came off the bench to snatch a last-gasp winner as Liverpool got 2011 off to a winning start with a 2-1 success against Bolton on New Year's Day.

The No.10 was on hand to guide in Maxi Rodriguez's cut back after Fernando Torres's volley had cancelled out Kevin Davies's first-half opener.

It means the Reds are now up to ninth place in the table, nine points adrift of Chelsea who lie fifth.

The home side had gone into the encounter with a determination to get the disappointment of Wednesday's defeat against Wolves out of their system.

With this in mind, Hodgson opted to make three changes to the side that was undone by Mick McCarthy's men, with Fabio Aurelio, Daniel Agger and Maxi Rodriguez restored to the line-up. Steven Gerrard was a surprise absentee from the starting XI, with fatigue cited as the reason for him dropping to the bench.

In the morning edition of the local Echo newspaper, Club Ambassador, Kenny Dalglish called for everyone connected to Liverpool Football Club to pull together and focus on the matter in hand - claiming three points.

The Anfield faithful would have arrived at their seats expecting a response from their team too but it was a cagey opening with both sides tentative in their approach play.

In fact, there was little to shout about in the first 20 minutes other than when Martin Skrtel flicked a right-wing free-kick a few yards off target and Matt Taylor cleared a Maxi volley from under his own crossbar.

With the tempo slowing and passes going astray there was a clear need for some inspiration and the sight of Gerrard taking to the field in place of the injured Raul Meireles seemed to lift the spirits of the crowd. [Read more…]

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Bring back Rafael Benitez to the Kop

With the defeat to Wolverhampton Wanderers yesterday evening, Liverpool Football Club has took a plunged into a new depth of crisis. The reason Kop boss, Roy Hodgson mentioned during the post match conference for the loss at Anfield was “it was a bad day at office”, and he blames the lacks of support from the crowds.

I think we all have given him all the backings and supports since his appointment. There are no reason for him to laid the blames on the supporters. Although, he cannot be solely blamed for the defeat at Anfield yesterday, the players are largely at fault too.

The board has been patience with Hodgson and has given him the time to move forward his plans for the team. How much longer do we need to wait until NESV or John W. Henry finally sees that it is crucial to replace the manager now? There aren’t any lack of candidates for the manager post to select from, as Martin O’Neil, Frank Rijkaard and Rafael Benitez are all but available.

There will be some segment of the Reds supporters opposing to the re-appointment of Rafael Benitez. But why we need to set aside the ruckus he has caused during his last tenure and give the helm at Anfield back to Rafael Benitez at this crucial time?

First of all, the core of the team has been employed by Rafa. The tactical aspects of the team will remain intact and removes all the negative approach from Hodgson’s plan. Our defence are in a shambles with the man-marking system deployed by Hodgson. Do we have this kind of problem over the zonal marking system during Benitez?

NESV and John W. Henry needs to reassess the every possible angles of changing the manager before the transfer windows re-opens in two days time. The Reds were once a fearsome opponent at European arena but now we can’t even beat a bottom of the league table team at our own backyard.

Why not employ Frank Rijkaard or Martin O’Neil? We doesn’t want to repeat the same mistake all over again. New manager, new tactical plans, new backroom staffs and a new headache. Rafael Benitez still has some unfinished business at Anfield, back him up financially and he’ll give us the results.

Don’t mistaken me for as a pro-Rafa or anti-Hodgson regime. I’ve backed Hodgson to succeed Benitez but I didn’t realised that he doesn’t have a clue on how to handle a massive club like Liverpool Football Club. He is dragging us down and not the opposite way.

Is it the right time to bring back Rafael Benitez? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.

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Goal Highlights: Liverpool 0-1 Wolves

Stephen Ward stunned the Kop with the only goal of the game as Liverpool slumped to a 1-0 defeat at home to Wolves on Wednesday night.

The Irish midfielder struck a 56 minute winner as Mick McCarthy's men moved off the foot of the Barclays Premier League table with a famous Anfield triumph.

The result means Roy Hodgson's side have now lost eight league matches so far this season and remain 12 in the standings, 12 points adrift of fourth placed Chelsea with a game in hand.

The pre-match chatter had centred upon the return to action of Steven Gerrard while the sad passing of ex-Reds Bill Jones and Avi Cohen meant there was a pause prior to kick- off as Anfield paid its respects with a minute's applause.

The fitting tribute was followed by a hungry start by the home side, perhaps unsurprising given that this was their first run-out in the league since their 3-1 reversal at Newcastle United on December 11.

The adverse weather conditions had put paid to the Reds' hopes of adding to the fans' festive cheer any earlier, but they were almost celebrating a belated gift when Fernando Torres exposed the Wolves rearguard on nine minutes.

A quick-thinking free-kick by the Spaniard sent Raul Meireles through on goal but the No.4 was denied his first in a red shirt by a fine point-blank stop from Wayne Hennessey.

If Kopites felt that was the beginning of the onslaught they would be sadly mistaken as the visitors began to grow in confidence.

Indeed, few observers had given the visitors any hope of upsetting Liverpool at Anfield in the run up to the encounter, but they almost snatched the lead on 17 minutes when Glen Johnson's superb defensive header prevented Stephen Hunt from having a free sight of goal at the far post. [Read more…]

WATCH THE HIGHLIGHTS 

Does Roy Hodgson deserves another patience from us? I’m running out of patience with him as the manager of Liverpool Football Club. Is it the right time to bring back Rafael Benitez? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.

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POLL: Should Liverpool FC appoint back Benitez?

Let’s hear from all of you and leave your thoughts on the comment box below.

Should Liverpool FC appoint back Benitez?

 

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