Relegated Southampton today said that they have turned down a bid for their striker Peter Crouch. The bid is said to have been made by Liverpool, and reports say it was for £5million, although this hasn’t been confirmed officially.
Crouch recently made his England debut in the short tour of the USA, and it’s believed that Southampton feel this has increased his value. The 6ft 7in player scored 16 goals for Southampton last season.
Southampton chairman Rupert Lowe doesn’t want to start selling players wholesale aftet their drop to the Champions ship, and said: "There has been a lot of interest in Peter Crouch and we have had an offer which we have turned down. We want to keep the squad together and the relegation clauses in
players’ contracts mean we do not need to sell. Our destiny remains in
our own hands."
Saints manager Harry Redknapp said he wants the 24-year-old to be part of Southamptons challenge to return straight away to the top flight. Speaking to BBC Sport, Redknapp said: "If we sell him it sends out all the wrong messages. I’m not going to get into any sort of fee we might accept for him as if I do people will think I want to sell him. It would be better for Peter to stay at Southampton and play rather than go somewhere like Liverpool and be on the bench."
It was also claimed earlier today that Deportivo had turned down a bid from Liverpool for their striker Luque.