Liverpool to fight Man Utd for midfielder
Steven Defour is a name that has cropped up in transfer rumours for a fair few years now, often in connection with seriously big clubs, however surprisingly the 23-year-old is still plying his trade back home in the Belgian Jupiler Pro League with Standard Liege.
There are reports that he will finally earn a high-profile move this summer, with Premier League duo Manchester United and Liverpool ready to go head to head in the battle to land the midfielder, who they are hoping to land for a figure in the region of £9 million.
The former Racing Genk man first emerged on the radar of most Reds supporters when a Standard Liege side also featuring Marouane Fellaini faced them in a unexpectedly close Champions League qualifier, though Sir Alex Ferguson has also been a long-time admirer of the Belgian international.
The Red Devils boss even wrote to the highly-rated youngster a letter in 2009 when he suffered a broken metatarsal to wish him a speedy recovery and to promise that it wasn't going to prevent the Premier League leaders from tracking his progress.
That gesture won't have been forgotten and may make Manchester United favourites, but with Liverpool boosting their transfer pedigree by hiring Damien Comolli as director of football earlier in the season, they won't give up the fight for Defour's signature without a fight.
Meanwhile, current Reds midfielder Alberto Aquilani's future is still undecided, with loan employers Juventus confirming their intention to make the Roman playmaker's switch permanent, yet hinting that they are hoping to get a discount on the fee initially agreed with the Merseyside giants.
Where will Liverpool finish this season? They are [4.1] to leapfrog Tottenham...
Published: 20 Apr 2011
Old Timer (April 20, 2011 8:23 AM) said:
Liverpool could agree a deal with Juventus for, say, Mohammed Sissoko + £5M in exchange for Aquilany. That £5M would in turn fund half the cost of Defour!
Lucas (April 20, 2011 12:04 PM) said:
Momo back at Liverpool??? Dont think so.
I think we should sell Aqua for 12-15 (what ever can be realistically achieved) and spend it along with the summer transfer funds on a left back (Fabio Coentrao) another striker (Edison Cavani) and two wingers. (Johnson from City and Lavezzi) also poss a few youngsters like Wickham etc
We certainly dont need any more central midfielders unless one or two will be moved on. We have Gerrard, Mireles, Lucas, Poulsen, Spearing and Shelvey
Anonymous (April 21, 2011 1:46 AM) said:
This is what will happen -
Liverpool are certainly in the market for a left back, who they sign will have a re-sale value. So i do believe Fábio Coentrão will be on their hit-list, but so is Pablo Armero and Mahmadou Sissoko..Aly Cissokho.. So whoever it is, i hope they could solve our left-back problems!! Any takers for Jack Robinson to be the permanent left back or Glen to move to left back and let Kelly stay on the right?
I think the team lacks creative midfielders, on the flanks as well as centrally. Steven Defour would be a real coup, Alberto has quite nice touches and he can attack but he does not fancy a return.. Therefore, other two alternatives would be joao moutinho or even Miguel Veloso..Charlie Adam is also another name which has been mentioned, he has been absolutely colossus for Blackpool this season and i think he would fancy a shot at the bigger clubs..
As for the wing department, the list can go on and on, but i would like to see Kranjcar( surprise addition but hes got much needed experience and he's a wonderful footballer, great touch and good professional), but one downfall is that he is not an out an out winger..but still's got good creativity to be on the flanks..the dutch youngsters Ibrahim Afellay & Eljero Elia looks promising so lets see where it goes..
Well, apart from that, i hope we retain the services of Pepe for the foreseeable future, i think he is absolutely vital in the rebuilding process..
Remember pep, the grass is not always greener on the other side as Nando is learning...
Dude (April 21, 2011 10:31 AM) said:
It would be upsetting if reina left... but Old timer, momo? really? Don't say such "blasphemy" He was terrible for us, so let's forget that one, Players, i would suggest for the liverpool side, I am a fan of Aquilani but there are a lot of player who want the "steven gerrard" role, behind the striker, which Aquilani and Meireles do, Lucas is also known to play better in that role, I think to sort out our xabi replacement problem, see how he does in pre season, if no changes, then he may have to leave anfield on a permanent basis, For a holding midfielder i would suggest former Le Mans midfielder Mathieu Coutadeur, he is not well known but he is quite an athlete, he is a cool combination of the "bullish" attitude of Mascherano and h can pass well like Xabi Alonso, He could be the missing link, giving him time to adjust of course, Other's i would suggest to look at, Fabio coentrao, Rafinha (shalke) , Canales (real madrid), I have a natural eye for players, once one catches my eye, that's it, their destined for greatness. For example, the discovery of Samir Nasri, I noticed him ages ago at Marseille, Lucas, who was ridiculed for a long time, i still held onto what i saw of what he could be and now after a few seasons, he is on his way to being a world class player.