Liverpool on red alert as Valencia admit they must sell players

Transfer Speculation

Valencia have admitted they will be forced to sell either David Villa or David Silva claims today’s Mail. The club have revealed crippling debts of £470 million, which says the article is “even worse than previously feared”, a figure that dwarfs Liverpool’s debts and almost makes you feel that things aren’t so bad. Reports in Spain suggest Valencia have already accepted a bid in the region of £32m from Madrid for Villa.

Silva has continuously been linked with Liverpool since Rafa arrived at Liverpool five years ago and Benitez has not hidden his admiration for the attacking midfielder. Recent reports speculate the Reds manager had made a £15m offer, with Benitez attempting to take advantage of the clubs financial woes, with Saturdays Telegraph claiming that Rafa, “while ostensibly on holiday, met the player last week.”

Valencia president Vicento Soriano resigned a few days ago after failing to address the clubs financial dilemma and declared he did not want to be remembered for selling Villa and Silva. But, Manuel Llorente, his successor, has so far not been able to give the same assurances. Asked by Spanish Newspaper ‘AS’ if both players would stay at the club, Llorente said: “I do not want to sell them, I am going to try to save one, because the team must maintain quality. We are not going to undo the team. There are players who we must sell to renew the team and others because we need the money. And we must keep in mind, although I can not quantify the amount of money that we must bring in from the sale of players.”

With Real reportedly operating with a £200m spending budget and a number of papers reporting Silva’s representatives had met with the Spanish club a few days ago, Rafa probably faces an uphill struggle to sign the player if an auction were to be instigated. however the Spanish international, has a close relationship with Liverpool’s chief scout, Eduardo Macia. Also worth noting is Benitez’ s continual pursuit of the midfielder. A deal in January was almost struck and a fee in the region of £15 million was provisionally agreed before one Valencia director went public on the deal in an attempt to smoke out interest from other clubs.

This story could unfold with greater speed over the next few days as Valencia battle their staggering debts and the possibility of a flash sale increases.