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Liverpool’s transfer merry-go-round

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With the European transfer market in full swing, one of the most active teams in terms of potential comings and goings is Liverpool, which is coping with ownership strife as well as financial restrictions that don’t plague teams like Manchester United and Chelsea. SBI correspondent Carl Setterlund takes a closer look at the Reds and what they are doing this summer.

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One of the most interesting cases in the European transfer market this year has been the case of American-owned British team Liverpool. With owners Tom Hicks and George Gillett prepping for a new stadium at Stanley Park, funds have been in short supply for one of Europe’s old soccer powers. Rafa Benitez isn’t exactly in Arsene Wenger’s self-proclaimed situation, but in order to buy, Benitez will have to sell players to raise the funds. In order to do business, one deal hinges on another and it’s made for an interesting situation to keep an eye on.

First, Benitez sold out-of-favor John Arne Riise to Roma for a rumored £4 million ($7.9 million) to Roma in order to facilitate replacement buy Andrea Dossena to come in from Udinese for £7 million ($13.8 million). Now, as recently reported on SBI, England international Peter Crouch has been sent to Harry Redknapp’s Portsmouth squad for £11 million ($21.7 million). We know what Benitez wants to happen next, it’s a matter of whether or not he can get it done smoothly.

Standing in Benitez’s way of an easy and productive offseason is Aston Villa manager Martin O’Neill who won’t let this 800-pound gorilla do whatever he wants, especially since he knows Rafa is on a budget. O’Neill signed Steve Sidwell from Chelsea for £5 million ($9.9 million), yesterday, as an obvious replacement for departing skipper Gareth Barry. Although a deal is expected, Barry to Liverpool hasn’t happened yet because O’Neill is demanding £18 million ($35.6 million) for the 27-year-old, which is a little overpriced for a player of Barry’s caliber and an amount that penny-pinching Rafa is unwilling to part with… yet.

One reason for the excessive cost may be that O’Neill is giving a response to the valuation Benitez has leveled on 22-year-old goalkeeper Scott Carson, on loan last season at Villa Park. O’Neill was looking to seal a permanent move for his first-choice keeper, but hasn’t been impressed with the £10 million ($19.8 million) price tag slapped on Carson. O’Neill needs a good goalie to maintain last year’s level of play, but it seems like neither player will move at their exaggerated cost. It seems like both teams are genuinely interested in making these deals happen, but how the money will settle is anyone’s guess.

Also on the horizon for Liverpool is a possible swoop for Tottenham striker Robbie Keane. It’s reasonable to think Juande Ramos might sell one of Keane or Dimitar Berbatov, but there’s is almost zero chance that he ships off both players. If Rafa is to get this deal done, he’s going to have to make haste before another major European club makes a move on Berbatov.

The problem is that Benitez doesn’t yet have the funds to make this happen, unless he wants to put Barry’s deal on hold. Spanish midfielder Xabi Alonso has long been rumored to Juventus, but Benitez says he’s not convinced he’ll sell Alonso. However, this is probably just posturing as he aims to milk £15 million ($29.6 million) or more out of the deal.

In all, Benitez has brought in £15 million so far, with somewhere between £20-25 million coming in if he completes the sales of Alonso and Carson. On the other end, Rafa has spent £6 million on Dossena then add in another £18 million for Barry and that would still give him upwards of £12 million to move in on Keane. Complicating matters is that Liverpool are still probably trying to offset the £18.6 million they spent to make Javier Mascherano’s move permanent.

Although not a great deal has happened yet, much appears poised to go down in the near future. It makes for an uncomfortable situation for Benitez who has to operate like an NBA GM up against a salary cap. It’s not unusual for a player to be sold in order to afford another, but the scale of Liverpool’s situation makes it a fun story to monitor over the transfer season.

What do you think? Is Benitez pinching his pennies where there’s no need? Will all Liverpool’s rumored deals collapse underneath them? Should he change his attention to cheaper targets?

Share your thoughts below.

Comments

  1. Joe,

    Would you NOT say Rafa taps up players reguarly? Its all he does. He unsettles players until they want to leave their clubs. He has not class whatsoever. And I personally don’t want to debate you on his transfer record–we cleary disagree on some of his “sucessful” purchases.

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  2. It’s hilarious to me to see the Rafa-haters or skeptics come on here and voice their opinions only to see true LFC supporters come on and back and LFC him with statements that are both logical and correct.

    A possible Starting XI for next year would be this…

    ———-Torres——-Keane———-

    Babel——Barry——Mascherano–Gerrard

    Dossena—-Skrtel——Agger—-Carragher

    —————-Reina—————–

    That side above can seriously challenge for the EPL title and with some luck win the whole thing. Especially with the likes of Lucas, Kuyt, Benayoun, Insua, and Degen coming off the bench.

    YNWA.

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  3. Dunno, Torres seemed to be a wise investment, wouldn’t you say? If the Yank owners would pull their finger out, and stop acting like idiots, maybe Rafa wouldn’t have reason to belly-ache. These idiots have saddled the club with debt(something that they said they would not do)

    Furthermore, compared to Chelsea and Man U, they do not outspend them in the transfer market, and their sucesses outweigh their busts, and they have bolstered their youth squad. So it seems to me Rafa spends the money he’s got wisely.

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  4. J, with the first comment, said it correctly, Liverpool spend big bucks every transfer period, but Rafa is constantly belly aching about how little money he has. I am a Reds supporter, and like Rafa’s decisions on the pitch, but his complaining about lock of funds is pretty ridiculous. Perhaps he should start to invest money a little bit more wisely, so that he wouldn’t have to buy replacements every other season for the bust purchases he makes.

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  5. The truth is, changing his attention to cheaper targets is not an option. In order for true progress to be made, money will have to be spent on high quality players. The problem is we simply do not have the resources right now for someone like David Villa, but I think Keane would be a nice, cheaper alternative who will slide in smoothly with our current personnel. It’s apparent that Rafa is up against a difficult FO regime and I think he will be as successful as is financially possible.

    I would actually rather keep Alonso around than actually LOSE money on his departure/Barry’s arrival. I for one DO NOT believe that he is overrated. Sure, he didn’t find his way onto the field for a lot of playing time at Euro 08 but there are only a handful of players IN THE WORLD that could’ve. His vision and passing ability are sublime and he is not a flaky tackler.

    As for the fullbacks, I’m skeptical, but hopeful.

    Thanks for putting my team in the spotlight, Carl! It will indeed be an interesting two months.

    GO REDS!

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  6. UNITED,

    The reason Degen didn’t play in the Euros was because he was recovering from an injury that hampered him at Dortmund for most of the season. And Dossena has been capped by Italy and was considered the best LB in Serie A by many Italian pundits.

    Barry and Keane average performers?? Do you even watch the Prem? Barry was probably the best player not on a Big Four club, including Berbatov last season and is exactly the type of player that Liverpool need centrally. Keane is a proven goal scorer in the league and would certainly be an upgrade on Crouch.

    And Deco was the definition of average last season for Barca and I am not convinced his style will translate to the Prem. Nasri has a lot of potential (like most Arsenal players and signings), but isn’t a great player yet, so I really don’t see those as fantastic signings…

    And J, as others have said, your Owen and Kuyt analogy has some flaws, plus the way Kuyt played on the right in the 2nd half of the season, I think I would take him over a declining Owen at this point…

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  7. Benitez doesn’t get it. He will never win the title if he continues signing average players. That Swiss guy he signed couldn’t even get into Switzerland’s squad during the Euros. Dossena? Has he even been capped by Italy? Barry? Keane? Two more players who are above average performers at upper table clubs, but nothing more. At the same time, we see Chelsea signing Deco and chasing Robinho, while Arsenal are likely set to sign Nasri.

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  8. Good article, glad to see some Liverpool news as I am a supporter as well. Hope to see more of your work in the future and further on in the Premier League season.

    Benitez is a very good tactician and he is a shrewd businessman, many point to his failed signings (Kromkamp, Josemi, Gonzalez, Bellamy, etc.), but his successes (Reina, Skrtel, Agger, Alonso, Mascherano, Torres, Babel, plus youth players, etc.) outweigh his failures. He is not a bad negotiator, rather it is Parry and the other directors/board members that are the bad ones that often screw things up.

    J, to address your points. Liverpool are playing hardball over their price valuation on Barry, and we have something (Alonso) to fall back on. Worst-case scenario for Liverpool, we say no thanks to Villa who then have to deal with all of their own problems between Barry and the club/teammates/manager/supporters. That leads us to keep Alonso. Best-case scenario, we get Barry, sell Alonso, buy a class striker/winger, and call it a day.

    Second, Owen wanted out, and Benitez made the right call. Now Owen is injury-ridden and is lacking confidence. Newcastle want him to take a pay-cut, and he is washed up. Meanwhile, Liverpool has won a CL and FA Cup along with improved point totals. The strikers that Rafa bought, like Kuyt, Crouch, and Torres have all been successful somewhat, and all of them have scored good and vital goals for the squad.

    Good work on the article, and I am looking forward to more EPL news.

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  9. I think it’s maybe a combination of all the fine points made here.

    Liverpool are NOT poor. Having said that, they do need to sell as well as buy. I actually think the biggest key here is Alonso. He’s definitely overrated by a lot of people, they should get a decent amount for him from Juve. If that move happens soon it will make Rafa’s life a whole lot easier.

    Having said that, if everything stalls and we get into office, look for plenty of transfer money to magically appear. They won’t publicize it, but rather make a couple of big-money moves in a short period of time so no team can hold them over the coals.

    Of course…all just guesswork on my part.

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  10. Only 4 clubs in the world have spent more transfer money than Liverpool during Benitez reign – and he does this (belly-ache) every transfer window.

    If you go back to the spring and read Benitez own quotes coming out of his meeting with Hicks, Rafa said that his targets were approved and funded.

    The real problem is that Rick Parry and Rafa are terrible negotiators. They are going to spend 17-million and give Villa Steve Finnan for Gareth Barry? Really?

    Remember these are same two who sold an injury-free Michael Owen for less than they bought Dirk Kuyt.

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