Rumour Mill: Liverpool wants Manchester City midfielder as Kuyt replacement

Newly installed Liverpool boss Brendan Rodgers is wasting no time in his pursuit of new additions to his Anfield squad and having offloaded Dirk Kuyt to Fenerbahce, the former Swansea City manager will now look to move for Manchester City winger Adam Johnson.

Rodgers is believed to be preparing a significant bid, said to be in the region of £16million, for the 24-year-old England international and the Northern Irishman will hope that the promise of regular first team football will act as enough motivation for the former Middlesbrough man to push for an Etihad Stadium exit.

Johnson has struggled to make an impact at Manchester City and has consistently failed to secure a regular first team berth ever since his £7million move to the club. Last term the Sunderland born winger managed just 10 Premier League starts and as a result lost his spot in the England Euro 2012 squad.

Whilst Manchester City may well have won the Premier League and have Champions League football to look forward to Johnson may well feel that his career is stagnating at the club. The arrival of Samir Nasri last summer further stifled his progress and talk of further additions could well spell a death knell to his time at the big spending club.

Liverpool could well do with a more natural right wing option as Jordan Henderson has struggled to fill the role since his move to the club and with Kuyt having left there is indeed further need to consider addressing the problem area.

Source: Caught Offside

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Video: Brendan Rodgers the new LFC manager

Fenway Sports Group (FSG) and Liverpool Football Club announced that Brendan Rodgers has been appointed as the club's new manager, last Friday morning after signing a contract.

Rodgers, 39, is regarded as being at the forefront of a new generation of football coaches, an excellent tactician and motivator with a progressive philosophy. After an extensive two-week process where many highly-qualified candidates were carefully considered, Liverpool's ownership group identified Rodgers as the single outstanding candidate to implement their long-term vision.

 

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Liverpool wants Barcelona playmaker

Liverpool FC long-term transfer target and want-away Barcelona playmaker, Ibrahim Afellay could be donning the red shirt of Merseyside. But with the Catalan giants ready to accept offers in the region of £6 million, Arsenal, Tottenham and Newcastle have all been alerted to the availability of Barcelona playmaker.

The midfielder was signed by Barcelona from PSV Eindhoven for a cut-price £2.3 million after he entered the last year of his contract with the Dutch side, and despite showing immense promise initially, an injury hampered his progress at the Spanish giants. After returning from injury, it is thought that he would be available for as little as £6 million, which is considered a bargain for a player of such a high quality.

Barcelona have put the 26-year-old up for sale and believe his starting berth for Holland at the Euro's will be a perfect platform to boost his price.

According to reports, not only will Afellay be available for purchase this summer, but he'll be available for a lot less than expected. This makes it crucial for the Reds to pursue him.

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Liverpool missed out on free transfer target

Following the sacking of Kenny Dalglish, the proposed transfer deal for Senegal midfielder, Mohamed Diame to Liverpool has collapsed.

The Senegal midfielder, 24, is a free agent after letting his contract at Wigan run down, and although he has offers on the table from Spain, France and Turkey, he admits feeling hurt after having a move to Anfield snatched away.

Diame has revealed he held discussions with Dalglish about a possible move to Anfield and that he was sad to see the deal fall through following the Scot's departure earlier this month.

   “I met before Kenny Dalglish and we talked about next season, but God decided to finish this situation,”

“It is true I was very sad in my head as I was thinking to go there, but that is OK as I think I have got other opportunities to go to another club.”

“I am free and not everybody is free in this moment like a midfield player like me and that is why I have got a lot of clubs interested in me,”

“I have to be composed and make a good decision for my future. I have got some offers from Spain, from France, from Turkey, but I really want to stay in the Premier League.” Diame told Sky Sports News.

However, there could be an outside chance of a deal being resurrected should Latics boss Roberto Martinez - who is expected to hold more talks with FSG having returned from holiday today - be appointed to succeed Dalglish.

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Van Gaal penned himself in for Liverpool’s manager role

Louis van Gaal has told Liverpool that he is looking for a management role, rather than a position as a director of football, as his next job.

Van Gaal has been strongly linked with the vacant management position at Anfield, although the club's owners are believed to have identified the experienced Dutchman as the ideal candidate to be the Reds' new director of football, rather than the straight replacement for recently sacked Kenny Dalglish.

Liverpool reportedly plan to appoint a younger man to be in charge of coaching and day-to-day affairs under the more senior director of football.

   “My fingers are itching. I’m full of fire and want to work with players.

“I get dozens of offers but I’m waiting for the best one.”

But Van Gaal, 60, is such a strong personality that the idea of taking the reins as team coach would appeal strongly.

One man who is unlikely to take over is ex-England boss Fabio Capello.

Reports this week suggested FSG had been in contact with the Italian but he is now not believed to be on the shortlist, according to the Liverpool Echo.

Wigan’s Roberto Martinez is expected to meet the owners for talks over the next 48 hours and remains among the favourites, along with ex-Chelsea boss Andre Villa-Boas.

Kuyt, currently on international duty preparing for Euro 2012, gave his backing to the former Ajax and Bayern Munich manager.

   “It is not usual for players to speak about candidates, but he is a Dutchman, has a great track record and has the experience that the club could put to good use,”

“At the moment, Liverpool have no coach or technical director.

“Each club benefits from structure. You look at the Dutch national team and see that consistency and clarity are important.” Dirk Kuyt told De Telegraaf.

Kuyt seemed destined to be leaving Anfield this summer after his starting opportunities were reduced significantly last season, but has hinted he may be open to staying with a new manager coming in to replace Kenny Dalglish.

Swansea boss Brendan Rodgers, who publicly rejected the chance to hold talks with Liverpool last week, remains on the radar and would be approached again.

FSG have however distanced themselves from speculation linking them with a move for Didier Deschamps.

It has been reported that Marseille boss Deschamps spurned the Reds’ advances when he declared he intends to remain with the French club but FSG had no plans to speak to the Frenchman. The same applies to Harry Redknapp who has also been linked with the post.

Let’s look at the latest updates on the potential target list for Liverpool FC.

1. Michael Laudrup
2. Brendan Rodgers
3. Frank de Boer
4. Jurgen Klopp
5. Pep Guardiola
6. Roberto Martinez
7. Fabio Capello
8. Andre Villas-Boas
9. Didier Deschamps
10. Joachim Low
11. Paul Lambert
12. Rafael Benitez
13. Jose Mourinho
14. Alan Pardew
15. Guus Hiddink
16. Frank Rijkaard
17. Louis van Gaal

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Liverpool manager speculation round up

Liverpool owners are looking to make budget cuts and bring a new economic policy that might ruin any chance that the club had to keep the likes of Luis Suarez and Martin Skrtel. According to reports, Suarez is being scouted by Italian giants AC Milan and Juventus while Fiorentina are interested in taking Skrtel to Florence. The Fenway Sports Group believe that austerity is the only way to bring some normalcy to the Anfield balance books.

Roberto Martinez has been built up as a front runner to take up the managerial post at Anfield as he fits the tag of ‘young up and coming’ manager that the Fenway Sports Group seem to be looking for. According to reports, the fans haven’t received this news with any warmth whatsoever and have made it clear that they would like former boss Rafael Benitez to be back at the helm. Liverpool’s manager search has been heavily criticised and one wonders whether all the hullabaloo caused by it will result in any substantive decision making.

Spanish moneybags Malaga are looking to ruin Liverpool’s chances of signing Bologna midfielder Gaston Ramirez while the Reds struggle to find a manager to handle footballing affairs at the club. The Premier League team had submitted a £16million bid with Bologna according to the player’s agent but Malaga are looking to take advantage of the chaos at the club by acquiring the player right under the noses of the Liverpool owners.

Now a few managers has been distance themselves from the managerial vacancy at Anfield. Let’s go through who’s left for FSG to pick from below.

1. Michael Laudrup
2. Brendan Rodgers
3. Frank de Boer
4. Jurgen Klopp
5. Pep Guardiola
6. Roberto Martinez
7. Fabio Capello
8. Andre Villas-Boas
9. Didier Deschamps
10. Joachim Low
11. Paul Lambert
12. Rafael Benitez
13. Jose Mourinho
14. Alan Pardew
15. Guus Hiddink
16. Frank Rijkaard

At this time Martinez leads the list of favoured managers to take the managerial role at Liverpool with Bet 365 putting him at 9/4, while William Hill place him at a lower price of 6/4. But do fans want to see another name in the dug-out that hasn’t lit up the likes of Europe or even challenged for a European place in the Premier League?

Another favourite to take the hot seat, that has been mentioned quite frequently, is Andre Villas-Boas. AVB had an equally unfair and poor stint at Chelsea but it is his outstanding record at FC Porto that has caught the eye at Liverpool; currently installed at 11/4 on Bet 365 and 2/1 at William Hill.

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Poll: Who’s the next Liverpool FC manager?

Liverpool's owners are keen for the club's new manager to be in place for at least four to five years.

Tom Werner and John W. Henry have begun the search for the Reds' fourth boss in two years after sacking Kenny Dalglish and have a number of names in mind.

The new boss is likely to get a transfer budget of over £30million.

On Wednesday, sources close to Henry were keen to stress the American owners do have a clear vision for the future of the club and are likely to appoint three senior directors in the coming weeks.

Meetings have been held with a number of potential directors of football, including Johan Cruyff and former Barcelona sporting director Txiki Begiristain, while they have also spoken to at least one candidate to fill the chief executive's role.

Henry and Werner are also thought to be close to appointing a new director of communications to replace Ian Cotton.

While the departure of Dalglish has left something of a power vacuum at Anfield, FSG felt they had to act given Liverpool's failure to challenge for a Champions League qualifying place, a clear target at the start of the season.

Steve Clarke, Dalglish's assistant, has stepped down out of loyalty to the 61-year-old Scot.

Source: BBC Sport

Who’s the next Liverpool FC manager?

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Kenny Dalglish: End of A Reign

This news came as a shock to most of the Reds’ supporters late yesterday evening. Whether Liverpool FC manager, Kenny Dalglish was sacked by FSG or the Anfield legend walks out it doesn’t matter anymore. Dalglish loves the club and I remembered him quoted somewhere, “If someone better was hired to managed Liverpool FC, I won’t stand in the way” before he accepted the permanent role as the Reds manager last summer.

Dalglish's departure brings to an end his second spell at the Club where, as a player, he won numerous honours, including six English league titles and three European Cup trophies. As Manager he won three league titles, two FA Cups and of course this season, the Carling Cup.

   “It has been an honour and a privilege to have had the chance to come back to Liverpool Football Club as Manager. I greatly appreciate the work that Steve, Kevin, the players and all of the staff put in during my time and feel proud that we delivered the Club's first trophy in six years winning the Carling Cup and came close to a second trophy in the FA Cup Final. Of course I am disappointed with results in the league, but I would not have swapped the Carling Cup win for anything as I know how much it meant to our fans and the Club to be back winning trophies.

“Whilst I am obviously disappointed to be leaving the football club, I can say that the matter has been handled by the owners and all concerned in an honourable, respectful and dignified way and reflects on the quality of the people involved and their continued desire to move the football club forward in the same way as when they arrived here.

“I would like to thank all of the staff at the Club for their effort and loyalty. I said when first approached about coming back as Manager that I would always be of help if I can at any time and that offer remains the same.

“Finally, I want to put on record my heartfelt gratitude to Liverpool's fans, who have always given me and the Club their unwavering support. Without them neither the Club nor I would have achieved anything.” – Kenny Dalglish

Henry and Werner regarded an eighth-place finish, 17 points behind fourth-placed Spurs and 37 points behind champions Manchester City, as unacceptable given the £110m FSG has invested in players.

There was praise for the Scot with Henry claiming Dalglish is “the heart and soul of the club”.

   “Kenny will always be more than a championship winning manager, more than a championship winning star player. He is in many ways the heart and soul of the club. He personifies everything that is good about Liverpool Football Club. He has always put the Club and its supporters first. Kenny will always be a part of the family at Anfield.

“Our job now is to identify and recruit the right person to take this Club forward and build on the strong foundations put in place during the last 18 months.” – John W. Henry

Now, the big question is who is the next manager for Liverpool FC?

Source: Liverpool FC Official

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