Papers: Alonso set for Anfield farewell on Sunday

Xabi Alonso will play his final game for Liverpool as Rafa Benitez looks to offload the Spanish international to raise transfer funds this summer, according to a report.

The Daily Express claims Benitez will accept a large bid from Real Madrid and let Alonso, who is currently the fans’ player of the year, go. Paul Joyce writes:

A belated deal for Aston Villa star Barry has been secretly set up, while Benitez is also ready to seal a £10million move for Portsmouth right-back Glen Johnson, who has been on his wanted list for some time. Benitez is also interested in unsettled Manchester United striker Carlos Tevez and Valencia’s David Silva.

But before you get all worried, this is probably just the rags way causing sensational headlines and profiting from the wildest of rumours. Besides, a Liverpool spokesman last night reassured supporters, “There has been no contact from anyone and Alonso is not for sale.”

The Independent - a somewhat a more respectable source that the Daily Express however also mentions Alonso’s links with a big money move to the Spanish capital. Paul Walker writes:

Xabi Alonso is being linked with a £22m move to Real Madrid, while Ryan Babel could also be sold. Striker Andriy Voronin is also expected to be moved on.

On the recent speculation linking the Reds with a move for Argentine striker Carlos Tevez, whose loan deal at Manchester Utd runs out at the end of this season, Walker writes:

The club say they have not made a bid to the player’s third-party owners. But Benitez is known to be keen to pair Tevez again with his compatriot Javier Mascherano, the pair having joined West Ham together in August 2006.

Sany Macaskill of The Telegraph says Aston Villa are ready to splash the cash to prevent their captain Gareth Barry from making a move to Liverpool this summer.

Initial reports have suggested that Villa are prepared to offer Barry a weekly salary of around £75,000 if he commits himself beyond the one year that he has remaining on his contract.

In the same back pages, Rory Smith has a report on Benitez’s best and worst signings since he arrived at the club in the summer of 2004. To cut a long story short, the best five are (fairly obviously) Fernando Torres, Xabi Alonso, Pepe Reina, Javier Mascherano and Luis Garcia (pictured). The five flops are Robbie Keane, Jermaine Pennant, Fernando Morientes, Andrea Dossena, and somewhat harshly in my opinion, Ryan Babel.

Source:
This is Anfield

For those fancy Insua, watch this.



Definitely worth a starting place comes next season, what a great young attacking left back we have.

Balague: Alonso available but no deal with Real Madrid

Guillem Balague says the reports from Spain that claim a £23million deal has been agreed between Liverpool and Real Madrid are not true.

The Spanish football pundit is in the loop with most things so it's good to hear him denying the reported deal. However Balague - a close friend of Rafa Benitez - admits that Alonso is available.

Balague said: "Yes, it is true that Alonso is a target for Florentino Perez – the favourite candidate to win this summer's elections at the Bernabeu – and yes, it is also true that Alonso has a price.

"However, contrary to some reports that have surfaced recently, Xabi Alonso has not signed a pre-contract agreement with Florentino Perez – nor has he reached any kind of deal with the candidate. Nor have Alonso's representatives held talks with Rafa Benitez to discuss a move.

"Any talk of a deal being done comes very much from the Florentino Perez camp, but at this moment in time, this talk has not manifest itself in action."

Sos Kop Talk.



When Balague speaks, it comes true...

Cheers for the vid. He's gonna be massive player for us. That Alonso video i posted a page back shows how much a better player Insua is than Warnock. Warnock, looks hesitant, even reluctant to attack space in front him - even when there seems acre of space. Insua, on the contrary looks like a bull, he attacks space with pace and conviction. Love the way he outpaced Sagna by the touchline and whipped one in his face. I also noticed that Insua doesnt tackle much, he seems to prefer to simply neg the ball away from opponents like Lucas does. This to me suggests that he has good positional sense as he never really required to chase down and make a tackle. Its a good skill this, because it means he'll be able to make use of the ball right away instead of being on the ground as its often is when you make a tackle. He doesnt hesitate like Dossena does by backing away when defending, he just negs it away as soon as he's in range. Another bit i like about him is his crossing ability, he's able to whip a cross even when the ball is square to him. Most players tends to make a distance and take the ball from the outside. He's a really tidy skilful player, has a good sense of positioning, has pace to get himself out of trouble and support attacks. We really do have a gem in our team.

Insua FTW!


Anyway, found this...Just wanna share.

going to remember this

This post has been edited by gerrardling: May 22 2009, 07:44 PM

the music not matching with your emotion

Napoli Reject Liverpool’s €22m Bid For Ezequiel Lavezzi

According to La Gazzetta dello Sport, Napoli president Aurelio De Laurentiis has rebuffed a €22 million bid from Premier League giants Liverpool for Argentine star Ezequiel Lavezzi.

The 24-year-old has been frequently associated with a move away from the San Paolo in recent weeks, with the Italian press suggesting that his agent, Alejandro Manzoni, has been in talks with Juventus.

It is claimed the Vesuviani were approached by an unnamed emissary on behalf of the Merseyside outfit, however, De Laurentiis said no to the initial bid.

Things could change at the start of next week, though. Manzoni is reportedly arranging a direct meeting between the two clubs for Monday.

Lavezzi is tied to the Campani until 2013 but there have been reports his representatives will seek a considerable pay rise at the end of the season.

The former San Lorenzo man, who has netted seven goals in 28 league appearances this season, currently earns €1.3m per season at the San Paolo. Liverpool are allegedly prepared to offer him a salary of €4m to lure him to Anfield.

Lavezzi has been sidelined with a muscular problem since Napoli’s 1-0 win over Inter last month but he could be back in action against Catania this weekend.

looks like alonso is gonna leave for real!
this is the first time i feel so fck on rafa's decision!

€22m =? pound?

Around 19-ish i think.

i think the overall sentiment here is we dont want alonso to leave...i mean even my manc fren said that he admired alonso's passing and would like such player in manutd...

but back to the point...i think he should be in our team nxt season, coz without him we havnt got anyone who would play the dangerous, penetrating diagonals....gerrard's specialty in the past but now that he's to occupied upfront, we need xabi around....

lucas is good in keeping the ball rolling passing it to other players, but ive yet to see him play 1st time long balls, and those dangerous diagonals to the wingers / fullbacks....

but if lucas grows much into alonso's mould nxt season, i hav no qualms in parting with alonso...coz i thnik he would fetch a really good price in the market....

Great crosses but I wander why none actually hit the net.

alonso leaving?
madmoz, when u wanna buy ur man city jersey?
i tumpang with u go buy arsenal jersey.

Alonso not for sale

Rafa Benitez Promises That Liverpool Won't Sell Xabi Alonso

alonso 60+ yards goal was awesome

better than some 40 yard goal...

like vietnam vs malaysia rite

i read it somewhere tat MON would rather keep barry for another season n let him go for free... so isit possible for lfc to snatch him up? MON can do nothing if barry submit a transfer request rite?

10m?? 15m pound bid for g. johnson already made, no? doubt this source, unreliable enough this article

ONLY 22m for alonso? Not good enough for quality player like him... thank god benitez cleared the air over his statement... alonso is one of the key player for us to challenge the league title!

honestly, it was awesome and better than some 40 yard goal for sure, even though the GK slipped

but still, i think this 1 was the best and awesome..



This post has been edited by choy89: May 23 2009, 03:46 AM