Liverpool closes in on third signing

Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers is desperate to add some much needed width to his new-look team next season, and has turned to Gaston Ramirez after baulking at Fulham's £10 million asking price for Clint Dempsey.

A fast, agile and elegant left winger who can play up front, Ramirez is rated as one of the finest players in Italy, and has been tracked by Barcelona, AC Milan and the two Manchester clubs in the last six months.

However, it appears that Liverpool, who held initial talks over a deal with Bologna last month, have jumped the queue, with the players agent arriving in England this week to sort out a transfer to the Premier League:

'Gaston is ready to leave Italy - so much so I am in England for talks with a Premier League club,' agent Pablo Betancourt told Mercato.

'He is one of the most important players in Uruguray, so there are no shortage of offers.'

Inter Milan and Tottenham are two other clubs believed to have significant interest in Ramirez, but neither are willing to stump up the £15 million Bologna want for the 21-year-old.

That clears the way for Liverpool to get their man, and they are hopeful they land the player in the next fortnight, despite the transfer being complicated, as Ramirez will be on duty for Uruguay during the London Olympics.

The former Penarol ace, who is contracted to Bologna until 2016, has already set his heart on a move to Anfield.

Source: Metro

This story has been reproduced from the media. It does not necessarily represent the position of Liverpool Football Club or Red's Fury™ blog.

Red's Fury™on

Stay tune for more news and follow me on Twitter.

Read More

Liverpool to tempt Fulham with cash plus player for American midfielder

Liverpool may have received some encouragement in their pursuit, according to the Daily Telegraph. A report claims that the Reds are willing to allow Charlie Adam to join the Cottagers on part-exchange potentially helping to force through a deal.

Rodgers sees the 26-year-old as surplus to requirements at Anfield following the arrival of Joe Allen from Swansea City on Friday and the impressive form of Jonjo Shelvey.

Rodgers and the club’s American owners want USA striker Dempsey but have been unable to agree a deal with Fulham, who value him at £10million.

But Liverpool hope the inclusion of Adam as part of the package will help push the move forward. Fulham are looking for a creative midfielder following the departure of Danny Murphy.

Rodgers is an admirer of Adam but has been surprised by the emergence of youngster Shelvey, who was picked ahead of his Scottish rival for the Europa League win against Gomel last week.

Rodgers has already begun breaking up Dalglish’s squad by letting Craig Bellamy, Maxi Rodriguez, Dirk Kuyt and Alberto Aquilani leave but he needs more departures to bring in more signings, following the arrivals of Fabio Borini and Allen.

Daniel Agger is the subject of interest from Manchester City, while Liverpool hope to agree a deal which would see £35m Carroll return to Newcastle only 18 months after he joined.

Both the Telegraph and Guardian also report that Rodgers remains keen to add width to his side, with Adam Johnson his preferred target. The England international has struggled to hold down a regular place in the Manchester City first team and could well be available this summer.

Although left-footed Johnson has established himself on the right flank and could potentially be a replacement for the departed Dirk Kuyt.

This story has been reproduced from the media. It does not necessarily represent the position of Liverpool Football Club or Red's Fury™ blog.

Red's Fury™on

Stay tune for more news and follow me on Twitter.

Read More

Liverpool make second signing and third to follow soon

Liverpool have signed Swansea City midfielder Joe Allen on a long-term deal, the Premier League club said on Friday.

The move reunites the Wales player with manager Brendan Rodgers, who left Swansea for Anfield in the close season.

The two clubs had an agreement that Rodgers would not target any of his former Swansea players for 12 months but the Welsh side can agree to any deal in the interests of the club.

Allen is the second player Rodgers has brought to Merseyside after Italy striker Fabio Borini arrived from Serie A side Roma.

He has been capped eight times by Wales and represented Britain at the London 2012 Olympic Games.

Elsewhere, Liverpool are weighing up whether to pursue a £10million deal for Atletico Madrid defender Diego Godín, as Daniel Agger gets set to leave, according to reports.

The Reds are resigned to losing Danish centre-half to Manchester City after they agreed to met their £22million asking price, and as such, Rodgers is on the lookout for a replacement.

Rodgers has been promised all the money from the sale of any players and knows the £22million City are ready to pay is more than enough to bring in at least two new recruits.

The Reds boss is looking to use part of the fee from the sale of Agger to bring in Uruguay defender Godin, who has been told by current club Atletico that he can leave if they receive £10million.

Rodgers has earmarked Godin due to the 27-year-old's similarities to Agger, coupled with his lower wage demands, which would give the manager more room to maneuver elsewhere.

This story has been reproduced from the media. It does not necessarily represent the position of Liverpool Football Club or Red's Fury™ blog.

Red's Fury™on

Stay tune for more news and follow me on Twitter.

Read More

Picture: Joe Allen watches Liverpool beat FC Gomel

Read More

Europa League: Liverpool 3-0 FC Gomel

Fabio Borini netted his first Liverpool goal as the Reds clinched a place in the Europa League play-offs with a 3-0 win against FC Gomel.

Brendan Rodgers partnered the Italian with Luis Suarez for his first Anfield game as Reds manager and the pair combined for Liverpool's opener on 21 minutes.

The Reds won 4-0 on aggregate. Steven Gerrard tapped into an empty net minutes before half-time to add to Borini's opener before Glen Johnson fired a stunning volley past Vladimir Bushma to grab Liverpool's third on the night.

The home side started brightly and Anfield rose to its feet in anticipation every time Suarez jinked, whenever Lucas seized possession and when Borini shaped to shoot from the edge of the box on three minutes, only to see his effort blocked by a green and white shirt.

Gerrard demanded the ball constantly and stormed into an advanced role in behind the Gomel midfield. On nine minutes, Stewart Downing cut inside and slipped a pass into the skipper, who wrapped his right boot around the travelling ball and drilled it low into the arms of Bushma.

A sublime Liverpool move was to follow. Gerrard dummied a diagonal pass and sprinted onto the return ball from Suarez. Head raised, the captain surged towards goal before sliding a cutting pass through the Gomel defence to where the Uruguayan was poised to smash over the bar.

Full report: Liverpool FC Official

Read More

Rumour Mill: Liverpool set to beef-up the defence

Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers is ready to return to former club Swansea City to sign Wales defender Ashley Williams as Daniel Agger is being targeted by Manchester City.

Rodgers' insistence that Daniel Agger's omission from Liverpool's recent Europa League match against Gomel was purely for fitness reasons. But the tabloids has other idea on that piece of news.

Sources from Manchester report that Roberto Mancini has had two bids for Agger rejected by the Liverpool board, but is ready to return with a £20 million pound offer, an amount that Reds owner John W. Henry is expected to give in to. La Liga side Barcelona are also believed to be keeping tabs on Agger, but the Catalans are focused on obtaining Arsenal's Alex Song for now.

Rodgers promised not to upset Swansea when he left them for Anfield at the end of last season, but that has not stopped his interest in a £10 million deal for Allen, which he hopes to complete once the Olympic Games are over.

The former Chelsea coach is also a big fan of 28-year-old Williams, who has won 33 Wales caps and been a commanding presence in Swansea's rise from the Championship to Premier League mid-table.

Liverpool are under no pressure to sell Agger but will not stand in his way if City make a third, big bid.

Source: ESPN

This story has been reproduced from the media. It does not necessarily represent the position of Liverpool Football Club or Red's Fury™ blog.

Red's Fury™on

Stay tune for more news and follow me on Twitter.

Read More

Europa League: FC Gomel 0-1 Liverpool FC

Brendan Rodgers got off to a winning start as Liverpool manager as his side recorded a 1-0 victory over FC Gomel in Belarus on a landmark night for Jamie Carragher.

Though the Reds were under pressure for much of the contest, Stewart Downing grabbed the game's only goal when he found the bottom corner with a powerful shot from the edge of the box on 67 minutes.

Liverpool were able to see the remainder of the first leg of the Europa League third-round qualifier out and ensure the new manager marked his first competitive game in charge with a win.

There were plenty of other plus points for the Reds, as Jamie Carragher chalked up his 700th appearance for the club while Lucas Leiva was introduced into the action as a second-half substitute as he continues on the road to full fitness.

Rodgers named a strong line-up for the clash in Belarus - though it was the selection of Carragher that grabbed the headlines as he notched up his 700th run-out for the Reds.

In recognition of the feat, the No.23 was named as the team's captain for the night, despite the inclusion of Steven Gerrard on the team sheet.

Meanwhile, Fabio Borini was handed his competitive debut for the club as he led the attack, while Glen Johnson reached the 100-game mark for Liverpool.

Gomel created the first chance of the evening with two minutes on the clock as Igor Voronkov strode forward from deep and let fly with a dipping effort that grazed the roof of Brad Jones' net.

Full match report: Liverpool FC Official

Red's Fury™on

Stay tune for more news and follow me on Twitter.

Read More

Liverpool ready to offload Italian to Fiorentina

Liverpool have accepted an undisclosed offer from Fiorentina for Italian midfielder Alberto Aquilani.

The 28-year-old has flown to Italy from the Reds' pre-season tour of the United States to complete his move.

Liverpool are likely to step up their attempts to sign Swansea's Joe Allen if the deal proceeds as expected.

Aquilani has failed to settle at Anfield since signing in 2009 for £20million from Roma and has been on loan for the last two seasons.

The Italian’s lucrative contract equates to around £6.5 million a year, an expense which has only been reduced in recent years thanks to loan deals.

To put it into perspective, the £125,000 a week he is currently costing the Anfield club double what Anfield stalwart Jamie Carragher earns.

His stints at AC Milan last term and Juventus in the 2010-11 season mean he did not play for former Reds' managers Kenny Dalglish and only made two appearances for Roy Hodgson.

And despite having two years left on his contract and completing pre-season under new boss Brendan Rodgers, it appears that his time at Liverpool is coming to a conclusion.

Rafael Benitez brought Aquilani to Anfield as a replacement for Xabi Alonso, but he struggled with injury and made 26 appearances in his first season.

Source: BBC Sport

This story has been reproduced from the media. It does not necessarily represent the position of Liverpool Football Club or Red's Fury™ blog.

Red's Fury™on

Stay tune for more news and follow me on Twitter.

Read More