Liverpool to Sell Seven to Help Fund £30m Summer Spending Spree

Anfield boss ready for a clear-out.

Liverpool are preparing a clear-out as the Anfield side looks to generate funds for significant signings this summer. Kenny Daglish and director of football Damien Comolli have reportedly been considering which players in the club’s squad they are willing to offload and perhaps unsurprisingly a number of those are players brought in by Roy Hodgson.

Milan Jovanovic has failed to make an impact at the club and will be allowed to leave should a decent offer come in for the Serbian who is being chased by a string of Bundesliga sides. Philipp Degen is currently on loan at Stuttgart and the signs are that the Swiss international is unlikely to return to Liverpool.

Paul Konchesky has had a dire time at Liverpool and was sent out on loan to Nottingham Forest where he has proved a success and there is talk that Fulham may be interested in buying the 29 year old back and given that he cost the Merseyside club nothing in the first place it could take as little as £1.5m to take the defender back to Craven Cottage.

Christian Poulsen came in for a torrid time during the Hodgson reign and has barely featured since Kenny Dalglish arrived on the scene and the defensive midfielder will be offered at a reduced price of around £3-4m and there is reported interest from some Serie A sides including from Genoa and Cagliari.

Emiliano Insua is also very much up for sale and looked likely to join Fiorentina last summer until the deal stalled but a move to Florence may be back on although the Argentine may seek to stay at Galatasaray where he is currently in the middle of a loan spell.

Alberto Aquilani is having a great season at Juventus and has fought his way back into the Italian national team set-up but the Turin side are unwilling to pay the £15m that Liverpool are demanding, although the 26 year old has stated that he would be open to a return back to England the signs are that there are a number of other Serie A sides who may well be willing to pay the asking price.

Finally Joe Cole stands on something of a precipice. Dalglish is keen to give the former Chelsea man a chance to prove himself and the England international has not really had a run of games to show the Liverpool boss what he has to offer. There is apparently a queue of clubs who would jump at the chance to sign the attacking midfielder with West Ham and Everton apparently willing to take the 29 year old on if he is indeed offloaded.

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Manchester United Targets Seven as Sir Alex Plans £60m Spending Spree

ALEX FERGUSON reckons he can land as many as THREE of his top transfer targets in the summer. Big changes are expected at Manchester United, with a clutch of players retiring or seeing their contracts end. And Fergie has insisted the cash will be there for him to bring in top-class replacements during the close season.

He said: “We have certain targets in mind and I think two or three will be fulfilled. There’s no question of that. The Glazer family have always been supportive of our desires to improve the team.”

Top of his list is likely to be a goalkeeper, with either Schalke’s Manuel Neuer or Atletico Madrid’s David De Gea in the frame to replace Edwin van der Sar. The Scot is also likely to boost his midfield. Wesley Sneijder, Jack Rodwell and Blackpool’s Charlie Adam are all in the running.

Fergie could look for a new centre-back, too, with Bolton’s Gary Cahill and Thiago Silva of Ac Milan among the group of possibles.

SOURCE: The Sun

This is an interesting list of targets, some of which seem far more realistic than others, and Sir Alex Ferguson does seem to realise that this summer is the right time to make sweeping changes. Given that a number of the Old Trafford squad is nearing the end of their careers, with Edwin Van der Sar and Gary Neville already retired or set to retire and that Paul Scholes and Ryan Giggs can have not much left in the tank, it would make sense to bring in more young talent.

Ferguson already began the rebuilding with the captures of Javier Hernandez and Chris Smalling last summer and Owen Hargreaves and Michael Owen are unlikely to be handed new deals and then you have the likes of Rio Ferdinand, who is also getting on a bit and having numerous injury issues.

Of the players listed moves for Wesley Sneijder and Thiago Silva seem unlikely, both are at teams who are on the up, under new management and doing very well indeed in Italy. Some reports earlier in the week seemed to suggest that Atletico Madrid were likely to sell their young keeper De Gea to United and that deal could well still be on.

Bolton centre back Gary Cahill would also be a very effective purchase, but not a cheap one as the Trotters look to cash in on the England international. David Moyes has made statements about Jack Rodwell that would suggest that the Toffees boss is resigned to losing the Everton youngster, but like Owen Coyle, will not sell for anything less than their valuation.

Charlie Adam is being chased by Tottenham and Liverpool but may well see a move to Man United as his dream option. Sir Alex has cleverly moved to confirm that the Glazers will finance deals in the transfer market but I guess the proof will be in the pudding.

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Manchester United Plan Massive Spending Spree: £165m Transfer Warchest Made Available

Sir Alex Ferguson gets ready to spend on Old Trafford additions.

Manchester United’s parent company Red Football Joint Venture may have just posted a loss of £108.9m, but according to the Manchester Evening News, their position in the transfer market is stronger than ever. Sir Alex Ferguson reportedly has a £165m kitty with which he is free to spend, and with veteran players Edwin Van der Sar, Gary Neville, Paul Scholes and Ryan Giggs either retired, considering it or in the latter stages of their career, there is certainly a need for reinforcement. Furthermore, the likes of Owen Hargreaves and Michael Owen could be allowed to leave in the summer, with their expiring contracts unlikely to be renewed. “We have money in the bank so there is zero pressure on that, no pressure at all to sell any star player,” said chief executive David Gill. “The philosophy is to retain and attract the best players. We have £165m in the bank.”

SOURCE: Sportingo

Sir Alex Ferguson will be licking his lips as he scouts out new talent and make no mistake, his Old Trafford squad could well do with some freshening up. A number of his squad are either hanging up their boots or getting nearer to doing so, a number of other players are seriously under performing and though Manchester United are having a very good season and still on course for a treble, the wily Scot will know how quickly things can change.

The likes of Gabriel Obertan, Bebe and Jonny Evans have all looked poor this season. Young midfielder Darron Gibson has improved and earned a new contract as a result. Ferguson will be looking to bring in a new keeper and perhaps a new centre back having seen his back line suffer through injury and a drop in form.

There will be some players he needs to look for long term replacements for, like Ryan Giggs and Paul Scholes and such additions will not come cheaply, especially in today’s inflated transfer market. Remember also that Ferguson has not really spent the £80m the club received from Real Madrid for Cristiano Ronaldo almost two years ago, and that money will have be burning a hole in the club’s pocket.

Whilst the club does have significant debts it does seem likely that the club’s sheer size and commercial pull is keeping the Premier League giants well about the water line. That said, one can understand how a great many supporters are not happy with the manner in which the Glazers are running things and clearly the longer they are saddled with these debts the more problematic things could become.

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Liverpool Plan Exciting £65m Quartet Summer Spending Spree: Dalglish and Comolli Draw Up Wish-List

Anfield side to make big moves in summer transfer market.

Liverpool made a last-minute effort to sign the Aston Villa forward on the final day of January’s transfer window, but Villa were unwilling to sell. However, Villa’s hopes of tying Young down to a club-record £80,000 weekly contract evaporated when he announced that he will not extend his contract. Villa are hoping to attach a £20m price tag to Young, who has notched up eight goals and eight assists for Villa this season, but their position is weakened by the fact that his contract expires at the end of next season, at which point he could depart for free. Kenny Dalglish, Liverpool’s caretaker manager, who is currrently negotiating an extension to his own contract, believes that Young’s creativity would help bring the best out of new signing Andy Carroll, but he will face tough competition for his signature. Tottenham are looking to bolster their own Premiership credentials and Manchester United are hoping to recruit a creative midfielder this summer. The list of targets Dalglish has drawn up with Damian Comolli, Liverpool’s director of football, also includes Charlie Adam, the playmaker whom Blackpool managed to cling on to despite Liverpool’s advances in January, Wolves winger Matt Jarvis, and Bolton’s centre-back Gary Cahill.

SOURCE: Telegraph

Liverpool may find themselves having to battle numerous Premier League sides to land this quartet but one can see why Damien Comolli and Kenny Dalglish would see each player as way to improve the club’s squad. Whilst clearly the Merseyside outfit spend large sums to land Andy Carroll and Luis Suarez those deals were almost totally financed from the sales of Fernando Torres to Chelsea and Ryan Babel to Hoffenheim.

Aston Villa seem like they may have given up on trying to keep Ashley Young and will now look to get as much as they can for the England international winger, however with just a year left on his contract, his value is severely reduced and hopes of securing £20m are hopeful in the extreme. Manchester United also want the former Watford man so that may help to drive the price up for the Midlands side.

Gary Cahill is similarly being chased by Sir Alex Ferguson as well as Arsene Wenger who needs to beef up his back-line as much as either side. Liverpool have two veterans among their crop of centre backs with Jamie Carragher and Sotirios Kyrgiakos both getting on a bit, however they club does have solid pair Daniel Agger and Martin Skrtel, who are both 26 so have a lot left in the tank.

Charlie Adam has been in great form for Blackpool and whilst Raul Meireles and Steven Gerrard both score from the midfield perhaps the Scottish international will offer other options. Tottenham also want the Tangerines star though.

Matt Jarvis’s value will have rocketed since his inclusion in the England set-up and the likelihood of any move will significantly increase if Wolves don’t stay up. The crafty winger would offer some much needed natural width at a reasonable price.

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