Speaking to the official Liverpool FC website, Rafael BenÃtez today said that Daniel Agger was Liverpool’s first choice in their hunt for a new central defender to provide competition and cover for Sami Hyypia and Jamie Carragher. Agger was pictured at Melwood after joining in training for the first time with his new team-mates, before his official unveiling later today. Rafa said: “By the time the January window opened, Daniel was our first choice.”
From what Rafa told www.liverpoolfc.tv it wasn’t just the player’s undoubted ability on the field that made him feel he was about to sign the right player, it was the player’s attitude during talks: “Apart from his quality, one of the main reasons we knew he was the right player was because when we spoke, we could tell how much he wanted to come to Liverpool. This is important to me. Sometimes when you talk to an agent or meet a player, you can tell if they’re really interested in joining your club or not. I can see Daniel is hungry and extremely happy because he’s been given the chance to play for Liverpool.”
These words from the Liverpool manager confirm those said yesterday about turning down the chance to make a move for new Manchester United signing Nemanja Vidic, who ultimately cost the American-owned team £7.2million. The official Liverpool website will be publishing the first interview with 21-year-old Agger as a Liverpool player later in the day.
Reports, yet to be confirmed, are that as part of the deal a Liverpool side will play a game in Denmark later this year. It’s also been reported that Liverpool will pay the £5.8million fee in stages depending on appearances. The player is believed to need to play 100 games before Liverpool will have to pay the full amount.