Reds striker Milan Baros is insistent that he doesn’t want a move away from Anfield. Baros is one of many strikers at Anfield now, following on from the arrival of Peter Crouch yesterday. Rafa Benitez hinted that Baros could be sold and West Ham hinted at being interested in signing the player, but Baros is planning to stay. He claims not be enjoying the speculation saying: "Of course it is not pleasant, but I am still a Liverpool player. I am working hard and trying to persuade the coach I deserve my place in the team. We will sit together and talk about his intentions with me."
Baros intends to speak to the manager about his situation, saying, "If he says he does not need me, then we will start solving the problem, but nothing is happening now and I am not letting it play on my mind."
Baros is reportedly due to meet Liverpool’s chief executive Rick Parry along with his agent next week.
This isn’t the first time Baros has spoken out publicly about his situation with Liverpool. Two weeks before the Champions League Final Baros was reportedly complaining that he was "annoyed" with the Liverpool boss’s decisions. The Czech Republic star was quoted in Czech newspaper Pravo at the time as saying: "It is not true that I had or have had disputes with boss Rafael Benitez, but I am annoyed that when I’m fit I only warm the bench or when Benitez takes me off during a game even if I haven’t used up all my energy. I need to play. Only then will I be better than I am now."
Baros also said at the time that he’d be considering his future during the summer, saying: "Speculation is good for nothing. This question will be answered at the end of the season. Then we will deal with it with my agent. Of course it would be much better to speak about offers with a Champions League medal."
He’s got that medal now, but admitted in May that he’d already been offered deals by other clubs: "I have not said I am going to leave Liverpool. I have some offers, but this is my agent Pavel Paska’s job. If I leave the Reds I would like to play in a team which would be at least at the same level as Liverpool in regard to playing in European competitions. And I would like to play there constantly."
Baros also had an outburst in March after being a substitute in the Carling Cup Final. Although he did come on after 74 minutes, he wasn’t happy. He told the Czech newspaper Daily Sport: "I don’t know why I didn’t play on Sunday. I didn’t argue with anybody. I was disappointed but I am not thinking of leaving right now."
Baros could be holding the key to future Anfield signing, the £5 or £6million he’d bring in would help Liverpool to up their bid for Real Zaragoza defender Gabriel Milito. Liverpool have reportedly offered £8million for the Argentinian, but this falls short of the Spanish club’s £10million valuation. Zaragoza are determined to keep him and have reportedly offered to match any wages that Liverpool would have offered. The player has already expressed a desire to play for the European Champions.
Spanish newspapers report that Benitez has made a bid for Sevilla’s defender Daniel Alves instead, whilst other reports claim that Real Madrid’s Walter Samuel and Deportivo La Coruna’s Jorge Andrade are targets of the Reds.