Liverpool plan shock return for Craig Bellamy and eye Sebastián Coates

• Anfield side also interested in Uruguayan defender

The striker could be joined at Anfield by Coates, the 20-year-old centre-half who was named best young player at this summer's Copa América where his performances for the tournament winners Uruguay – in the same team as Liverpool's Luis Suárez – increased interest from several Premier League clubs.

As the Guardian revealed last month, scouts from Arsenal, City and Liverpool all monitored the 6ft 6in Coates in Argentina, with Arsenal also believed to have watched the defender playing for his club side Nacional, the champions of Uruguay, a dozen times last season.

Liverpool, however, with the advantage of the Suárez connection, have emerged as Coates's most likely destination in the Premier League and could cost Fenway Sports Group, the club's owners who have already sanctioned a £110m recruitment drive this year, a fee of around £12m.

Coates was linked with a £3.5m transfer to Porto in June following the collapse of a proposed move to the Brazilian side São Paulo but his rise to prominence at the Copa América has since inflated Nacional's asking price. The central defender is one of the most highly rated young players in the game and, despite his lack of experience at international level, his Spanish and British ancestry is likely to assist any application for a work permit.

Liverpool are keen to strengthen their defence, especially after allowing Sotirios Kyrgiakos to join Wolfsburg on a free transfer. The Greece international could be followed out of Anfield by Alberto Aquilani, a target for Milan.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2011/au...amy-shock-retur


coates for soto...what an improvement!!

i turn on the TV and slept through the match after the first half which Spurs gave MU too much space in their box, just like our Defence done in our first match,

Lets buy a Strong Central Defender, mind you Jones was good for MU, i wan Coates, even at 12Mil

What about Maxi Rodriguez? Is he leaving soon?
He has not been playing.

maxi should be featuring in the carling cup match against exeter city...
no place for him in epl starting lineup as we have downing there on the left, kuyt on the right...

uruguan defender now ??
and bellamy to make a comeback ?? y another striker ??
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/...-departure.html

all good news,hope it'll come thru,this is very promising to get back winning trophies

Our players being transferred out and some rumours so far:
Gulacsi -> Hull City (loan)
Ayala -> Norwich City (done)
Soto -> Wolfsburg (done)
Ngog -> Bolton
Aqua -> Ac Milan
Cole -> QPR
Poulsen -> ???
Insua -> ???

We don't need Bad Old Boy Bellamy! We need a young striker, hopefully someone who could learn a thing or 2 from Suarez......

actually the news is true...this year
http://www.skysports.com/story/0,,11669_7118818,00.html

but kuyt happy now with red

Like most, I'm against selling him as well but I don't know what's going on behind the scenes. From what I saw during pre-season, he's in amazing form and we could use his creativity to open up the game. We were drab against Sunderland and I reckon his introduction would have created opportunities. It seems to me that Carroll in particular needs someone to play right behind him to take some of the heat away. He isn't like Suarez who can work in tight spaces and create opportunities for himself. With Stevie out, and Meireles seemingly out of favour, it seems to me that Aquilani is the best candidate. I can't for the life of me understand why he isn't getting a game but if you look at King Kenny's signings, he seems to prefer English steel.

This post has been edited by Duke Red: Aug 23 2011, 11:44 AM

AA is not even listed as reserve player on last week match against arsenal. i guess AA is going to be offloaded soon. his role is almost same like charlie Adam. you cant have 2 free role playmaker playing at the same time unless KD have other plan, either AA or charlie adam going forward, another one stay at midfield

why KD want to bid bellamy?

a bit confused here

better he buy kevin doyle... heard rumours that KD interested with him

For those that haven't seen this, it's a touching tribute to Hillsborough. You'll see Liverpool legends like King Kenny, Thommo, Aldo and Brucie unite with musicians to belt out this touching rendition of "Fields of Anfield Road".



Fields of Anfield Road
Fields of Anfield Road
Outside the Shankly Gates
I heard a Kopite calling
Shankly they have taken you away
But you left a great eleven
Before you went to heaven
Now it's glory round the Fields of Anfield Road.

All round the Fields of Anfield Road
Where once we watched the King Kenny play (and he could play)
We had Heighway on the wing
We had dreams and songs to sing
Of the glory round the Fields of Anfield Road

Outside the Paisley Gates
I heard a Kopite calling
Paisley they have taken you away
You led the great 11
Back in Rome in 77
And the Redmen they are still playing the same way
All round the Fields of Anfield Road
Where once we watched the King Kenny play (and he could play)
We had Heighway on the wing
We had dreams and songs to sing
Of the glory round the Fields of Anfield Road

Beats me as well. But personally I think its a bit flaw as English steel seems a bit dated. I mean how long does a majority English team win anything? You have to look back in the 80's Reds team which coincidentally managed by KD as well.
Problem is English steel no longer rules the roster, anyway what wrong could it be mixing some of the silky skills & flair (not withstanding Suarez) to those steel? Selling him to Milan at a price dictated by Milan will be the dumbest thing to be done.
Actually in Meireles, there's someone with similar game play to Stevie but there's none in the team that offer what Aqua has.
Since selling him at 4mil will be almost same as losing him for free, might as well utilise him to the end of his contract even with rambling from his agent but heck, which agent keep their mouth shut???? None, cos thats what they do.

I agree. Seems as foolish as selling Arbeloa for $2 million. I understand that his contract was going to end the following season but selling a Spanish international for just $2 million?

coates for soto. definitely an improvement

I disagree to the fullest extent on your comment. English players don't have the skill and flair of European counterparts but it's their determination, heart and never say die attitude is what KD is looking for. I have watched EPL and Liverpool for >20 years and I can clearly see the English players commitment to the game when they play they play their hearts out. Last couple of season (during the Benitez era) Liverpool struggle for someone (Stevie G and J Carragher aside) to take the game by the scruff of the neck to the opponents and inspire the team of foreigners to play better. Stevie G is one of them but unfortunately he is in and out of injury. So hopefully with Henderson, Adams (although technically he's Scottish) and Downing, we have people who can take the lead and inspire foreigners to perform better especially when we are trailing.

Would like to disagree on the bold sentence. Determination, heart and never say die attitude comes from within, not from being English or not.

Stevie and Carra are Scouse first and English second, hence their commitment and passion for our cause. I would therefore say that it's important for us to have more local lads come through the academy like Flanno, Robinson, and Spearing.

Sadly however, hard running alone only takes you so far. England may be in FIFAs top 10 list but only because their qualifying groups usually consist of minnows like Macedonia and Andorra. The FA realised that English football was on the decline and I imagine it's what led them to appoint a foreigner as manager for the very first time. Heart and flair aren't mutually exclusive and if you can infuse some European influence into old English steel, you can potentially forge a very strong weapon. These days (and I use this term loosely - over the past 10 - 15 years or so) , you don't see very many old English type centreforwards in the mold of Les Ferdinand make the national team, neither do you see one dimensional workmanlike midfielders like David Batty or Paul Ince who were preferred to creative type players like Matthew Le Tissier.

I don't think that English players necessarily make better leaders and provide more inspiration than foreign ones, unless they're Scouse of course. Over the years, I've found players like Reina, Alonso, Mascherano, Suarez, Hyypia, Hamann, Riise and Kuyt just to name a few who are either committed (Erik Meijer anyone?), inspirational, good leaders or all of the above. It says something that many foreign players leave as fans and still follow the club, and speak about the fans.

This post has been edited by Duke Red: Aug 23 2011, 04:27 PM

For me aquilani is just like kewell, has skills and flair but a time bomb for injuries. He didnt play a lot of games due to injury, the loan to juventus increased his value and since he is now uninjured and we have plenty of midfields, the timing to sell him is now, before he injures himself after 1 game and then rest for the whole season.