Liverpool FC Forum

[TheoRacle]

Torres ready to move from Atletico.  This from ESPN.  I wonder if he'd consider coming to play for us with Garcia, Alonso and Morientes to help him settle in? 

Spanish striker Fernando Torres admits he could well be enticed to Arsenal by the promise of Champions League football.

Gunners boss Arsene Wenger is understood to want to bring the 21-year-old Atletico Madrid forward to Highbury as a foil to Thierry Henry and Jose Antonio Reyes.


And Torres revealed the lure of top-level European football could tempt him away from Spain.

He told The Sun: 'If a club like Arsenal and a coach like Arsene Wenger want to speak to you it is really flattering.

'Arsenal are in the Champions League every season and I want to play against the best teams and challenge for the biggest titles.

'At Atletico, things are going little by little.'

[A.B.]

Sure, Arsenal are in the CL? But are they going to win it anytime soon is the question

[drummerphil]

SKY NEWS

Berbatov
Bayer Leverkusen are reportedly ready to offload star striker Dimitar Berbatov, which could have alerted European champions Liverpool.

The Bulgarian is one of Bayer's biggest assets, but the club could be looking to sell in order to escape a looming financial crisis.

The news will alert several European clubs, including Liverpool, who made enquiries about the striker during the summer when they were desperately searching for a goalscorer.

Bayer's official stance remains that Berbatov is not for sale, but speculation is rising that he will depart in the January transfer window.

Bayer are languishing in mid table in Die Bundesliga and rumours persist of ill feeling between Berbatov and regular strike partner Andrey Voronin.

Berbatov's form has also taken a turn for the worse in recent weeks. After scoring five goals in the first five games of the season, he has failed to find the net since.

Bayer are very keen on one of the brightest prospects in German football, 21-year-old Nurnberg striker Stefan Kiessling, and may let Berbatov go to make room for him.

The Bulgarian has previously expressed an interest in playing in The Premiership, and with Liverpool's forward line misfiring, a move to Anfield could be on the cards.

[JC_81]

SKY NEWS

Berbatov
Bayer Leverkusen are reportedly ready to offload star striker Dimitar Berbatov, which could have alerted European champions Liverpool.

The Bulgarian is one of Bayer's biggest assets, but the club could be looking to sell in order to escape a looming financial crisis.

The news will alert several European clubs, including Liverpool, who made enquiries about the striker during the summer when they were desperately searching for a goalscorer.

Bayer's official stance remains that Berbatov is not for sale, but speculation is rising that he will depart in the January transfer window.

Bayer are languishing in mid table in Die Bundesliga and rumours persist of ill feeling between Berbatov and regular strike partner Andrey Voronin.

Berbatov's form has also taken a turn for the worse in recent weeks. After scoring five goals in the first five games of the season, he has failed to find the net since.

Bayer are very keen on one of the brightest prospects in German football, 21-year-old Nurnberg striker Stefan Kiessling, and may let Berbatov go to make room for him.

The Bulgarian has previously expressed an interest in playing in The Premiership, and with Liverpool's forward line misfiring, a move to Anfield could be on the cards.

I'd be happy if we brought this guy in, I've said it before, he's a quality player.

In games where Benitez decides to play with the 4-5-1 he is the perfect type of striker for the lone striker role, he's quck, holds the ball up well and can finish.

If we do sign him it would surely be the end for Cisse at Liverpool.  But to be honest I can't see any business being done on the striker front until the end of the season because Benitez seems to have other priorities.  Personally though I think we need a striker and I'd be more than happy with Berbatov.

[drummerphil]

cant say i know much about him John

[JC_81]

cant say i know much about him John

He's a good player Phil, Celtic nearly signed him a few seasons bac and they missed out on a top player.  Seen him play several times for Bulgaria and Leverkusen and he's nearly always impressed.

His movement caused us a lot of problems at Anfield last season for Leverkusen and had his finishing been better that night he'd have had a couple of goals, in particular he missed the target in a one-on-one with Dudek.  He didn't do himself justice with his finishing that night but he was playing in a team that was being dominated and was feeding off scraps.

[drummerphil]

Obviously i remember the game last season,but he must not have left any deep impression on me for me not to remember him.

[JC_81]

Obviously i remember the game last season,but he must not have left any deep impression on me for me not to remember him.

Fair enough Phil, as I said it wasn't his best game and to be fair I may not have noticed him myself, but I had known about him before and was looking out for him.

[RUSHIE#9]

My one concern about this rumour would be do we need another mis-firing striker in our squad. I know there is nothing to say he'll be mis-firing if he comes but with our current strikers struggling to find the net it is a concern if we bring in another player suffering a similar problem.

Not a bad player though when on form.

[skipper]

We could use another striker IF he's going to be consistent.  Like above posts, if Berbatov starts misfiring, then that wouldn't help the team at all.

[ivor_the_injun]

Basically, if you asked me to name any striker from Europe that I knew with 100% certainty would do the business for us in front of goal from day one, the list would be very short.

To be honest, it'd just read 1) Michael Owen, 2) Thierry Henry.

I don't care who else you care to name. I've seen Crespo fail at Chelsea, we've seen Morientes fail at Anfield...I've seen enough to know that throwing £10-£20m at someone who's getting a hatful in any other European league won't necessarily mean they'll de the business in the Prem.

[ivor_the_injun]

Yes, yes, I know these sources are generally hopeless. That's what this thread is for though, after all...

From Clubcall.com
http://www.clubcall.com/vsite....00.html

Liverpool - Brazilian snub prompts Rafa re-think
16 Nov 2005 12:44


Middlesbrough defender Chris Riggott has emerged as a target for Liverpool amid claims the Reds failed to land Brazilian Edu Dracena.

Dracena has claimed boss Rafa Benitez had a bid rejected by his South American club Cruzeiro as recently as October, prompting suggestions former England Under-21 international Riggott is now his top target.

Riggott was hotly tipped for a move to Anfield prior to leaving Derby County for the Riverside, initially on loan, in January two years ago.

It appears the Anfield scouting network have retained an interest in the 25-year-old and have alerted Benitez to his form in the past two months after half a year on the sidelines following knee surgery.

The Reds chief is keen to bolster in the centre of defence having failed to land a number of targets in the summer, and may yet renew his interest in Dracena after the player confirmed he was flattered to know teams are monitoring his situation.

He told reporters in his native Brazil: "I am happy because several teams are showing interest in me but I must say that at the moment Cruzeiro is the team that has the priority for renewing my contract.''

[ivor_the_injun]

Same story picked up by squarefootball, who in turn are quoting the Daily Express...

Transfer speculation: Chris Riggott to Liverpool (£5million)
Alex Wolstenholme


speculation 'facts'
Player: Chris Riggott
From: Middlesbrough
To: Liverpool
Cost: £5million
Source: Daily Express (16/11/2005)
Likely?: 2/5
Having been frustrated at a number of turns in his search for a new central defender, Liverpool boss Rafael Benitez is reportedly switching his sights to the domestic market as he looks to bring in a long-term replacement for Sami Hyppia.

25-year-old Middlesbrough man Chris Riggott is Benitez's target according to this morning's newspapers.

Long earmarked as one of the brightest prospects in the English game, Riggott has struggled with injuries since joining 'Boro from Derby County in January 2003.

This season however he has looked every inch the natural successor to Gareth Southgate at the Riverside Stadium and it seems his displays have not gone unnoticed.

Whether Liverpool would be able to tempt him away from the North-East is another matter. Middlesbrough are not stingy with their wages and would be loath to sell Riggott to another Premiership club.

[RUSHIE#9]

Same story picked up by squarefootball, who in turn are quoting the Daily Express...

Transfer speculation: Chris Riggott to Liverpool (£5million)
Alex Wolstenholme


speculation 'facts'
Player: Chris Riggott
From: Middlesbrough
To: Liverpool
Cost: £5million
Source: Daily Express (16/11/2005)
Likely?: 2/5
Having been frustrated at a number of turns in his search for a new central defender, Liverpool boss Rafael Benitez is reportedly switching his sights to the domestic market as he looks to bring in a long-term replacement for Sami Hyppia.

25-year-old Middlesbrough man Chris Riggott is Benitez's target according to this morning's newspapers.

Long earmarked as one of the brightest prospects in the English game, Riggott has struggled with injuries since joining 'Boro from Derby County in January 2003.

This season however he has looked every inch the natural successor to Gareth Southgate at the Riverside Stadium and it seems his displays have not gone unnoticed.

Whether Liverpool would be able to tempt him away from the North-East is another matter. Middlesbrough are not stingy with their wages and would be loath to sell Riggott to another Premiership club.

Lets put this one to bed straight away. According to Chris BAscombe in the Echo Rafa has got absolutely no interest in riggott
and the fact that 'boro took liverpool to court over ziege means the club don't want to do business with them again in the near future.

[stmichael]

Liverpool are rumoured to be on the trail of Spartak Moscow's coveted defender Nemanja Vidic.

The Serbia & Montenegro international is among the most in-demand stoppers in Europe and has been put forward as an answer to Rafa Benitez's central defensive dilemma.

Benitez spent much of the summer chasing a new centre half, but failed to add to his squad before the close of the transfer window.

He is likely to be in the market for a defender again in the New Year and has been linked with a swoop for Vidic.

The former Crvena Zvezda ace has also been watched by Aston Villa, although David O'Leary has intimated Vidic is out of his price range.

Reports have suggested that Vidic has a get-out clause in his contract worth €7 million (£4.8 million) and that figure is unlikely to deter the European champions.

Spartak are reluctant to see Vidic go, but a bid from Anfield is likely to turn the defender's head, although there is also interest from Italy.

Internazionale and Palermo were keen in the summer, but they have been usurped in the queue for Vidic by Serie A rivals Fiorentina.

The Viola also have the funds to compete for Vidic's signature and it appears to be heading for a duel between Fiorentina and Liverpool.

http://home.skysports.com/list.as....ut+Serb

....................................................................................

Anyone know anything about this guy? I've never heard of him.