Wednesday 27 May 2009

Rafa wants his transfers as soon as possible

Transfer Speculation

Rafa Benitez wants Liverpool’s summer transfer activity to be done and dusted by the time pre-season gets under way says the Echo. “The Reds boss is keen to conclude his business at the earliest possible opportunity in what is expected to be another busy summer at Anfield. Benitez will need to supplement his existing transfer budget with the proceeds from player sales and he is looking to start work on overhauling his squad immediately. But he concedes it won’t be easy to make improvements to what he regards as a high quality squad.”

The article quotes Rafa as saying: “Clearly we want to sign players but we know that it will be difficult to find players who are better than what we already have. It is not easy to find this kind of player in the current market and if we do then maybe they will be too expensive or not available. But we have to sign the right players and make the right decisions during the summer. We have some targets but right now it is too soon because some clubs do not know what the future holds for them but we will wait and see. But our idea is to have players signed before pre-season begins because this would be perfect. It means you can start working with them and training with them with the ideas that you want to get across to them so that they can start putting them into practice on the pitch.”

The article also goes on to say “Gareth Barry remains Benitez’s major target and with Aston Villa boss Martin O’Neill admitting he will not stand in the England man’s way should a top four club make an acceptable offer for him Liverpool’s move for the 28-year-old is likely to come sooner rather than later. O’Neill is reported to be ready to offer Barry a lucrative new deal in a bid to keep his captain at Villa Park but with the midfielder keen to play Champions League football such overtures are likely to fall on deaf ears.”

Also mentioned in the piece is Madrid’s pursuit of Alonso. It may be a concern that the Echo is taking this rumour seriously, as they often report accurate information. The article states: “the likelihood of Real Madrid making an offer for Xabi Alonso has increased after one of Florentino Perez’s main rivals to become president of the Spanish giants pulled out of the race. Perez has made little secret of his desire to sign Alonso should he become president and Liverpool are now braced for a bid from Real.”

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