Kenny Dalglish flew back to Merseyside on Thursday night to seal the deal for Stewart Downing that will see Liverpool’s spending reach £100million in the seven months since his emotional return to Anfield.
Aston Villa accepted an offer in the region of £20million for Stewart Downing late Wednesday evening and with Villa having also lost Ashley Young to Manchester United, Alex McLeish has made inquiry from Kenny Dalglish over the availability of Joe Cole.
Joe Cole has been rumoured to be on the way out of Anfield and the high earner who joined on a free transfer from Chelsea, would jump at a chance to kick start his career again in Birmingham. The signing of Jordon Henderson, Charlie Adam and now Stewart Downing has moved him down the pecking order.
Any deal for Cole is unlikely to be part of the transfer that will take Downing to Merseyside. Both clubs likely to want to keep each deal separately.
Liverpool would be demanding a transfer fee in the region of £4million for the England international.
According to Jamie Carragher, who is captaining Liverpool in the far east, Downing's arrival could see Andy Carroll, in particular, receive the kind of service he was deprived of in his first half-season on Merseyside. Carroll, who has Alan Shearer's hunger for a well-delivered cross, managed only two goals.
“It's a terrific signing, there is no doubt about that whatsoever,” said Carragher of Downing after an open training session in the Bukit Jalil Stadium, which attracted 38,700 supporters, who greeted every simple pass or shot into an open net ecstatically.
“He will definitely make a difference with his ability to go outside and down the line to get in quality crosses. He was Aston Villa's player of the year and he will give us something we have been lacking – genuine quality on the left-hand side.”
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Source: Footie-Online.co.uk
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Danish club FC Copenhagen are ready to take the midfielder off the Reds' hands with an offer of around £2.5million.
Downing has made it clear that he would prefer to make a move to Anfield.
The former Blackpool midfielder showed some neat touches throughout a promising cameo as goals from Christian Poulsen, David Ngog, debutant Conor Coady and Andy Carroll gave Kenny Dalglish's side victory in front of a passionate crowd in Guangzhou.
Konchesky followed Roy Hodgson to Anfield from Fulham for £4 million last summer and, like his former manager, has endured a dreadful time on Merseyside. He spent the end of last season on loan at Nottingham Forest.
The 31-year-old's agent said last week that a deal was imminent following several weeks of negotiations.
However, Aquilani's agent, Franco Zavaglia, told Tuttomercatoweb.it: "His future for the time being is at Liverpool. The player will remain there.
