Reports from Israel suggest Yossi Benayoun has agreed terms with Chelsea for a summer move away from managerless Liverpool. Liverpool have denied agreeing any fee with Chelsea, the Reds believed to be asking for £10m, but it seems clear that the move is inevitable.
Benayoun was said in some quarters to be looking for a move away from Anfield because he was unhappy with former manager Rafa Benítez and also frustrated at not getting enough starts. With Benítez gone and the next manager still unknown Benayoun still wants to leave, suggesting it wasn’t just Benítez and a lack of appearances that troubled him. The return to London would give no guarantees over appearances, but Champions League football and a big pay rise are likely to be more tempting than staying at Anfield in the current climate.
Yossi has three years left on the contract he signed for Liverpool last summer and is reported to have agreed a four-year contract with Chelsea. The reports say he will undergo a medical in the next few days before signing for his new club. Of course this can’t happen unless the two clubs do agree the fee, and with reports suggesting they are £6m apart on their valuations there would be much negotiation required before Israel’s captain would be clear to play in front of the plastic flags.
A figure of around £6m seems to be the most likely compromise on the fee, but any fans in doubt as to who negotiates transfers at Anfield will note there is no manager there to negotiate this one. Rafael Benítez left Liverpool earlier in the month after asking for guarantees from the Chairman Martin Broughton that all money from player sales could be reinvested in the squad. The Chairman is understood to have refused to give that guarantee, leaving Liverpool fans wondering whether any of this Yossi Benayoun money will be available to the next manager, whoever the next manager turns out to be.
Benayoun has been at Anfield for three seasons, his middle season by far his best for the club having suffered from inconsistency initially.
Fans fear Benayoun will be just the first of an exodus of players from Anfield this summer. Javier Mascherano has already made it clear he’d be delighted to follow Benítez to Inter Milan, with reports suggesting Dirk Kuyt – scorer of a goal for Holland in today’s World Cup win over Denmark –could also follow him.
With Steven Gerrard saying he wants to make his decisions about the future after the World Cup, he can hardly be encouraged by events at Anfield since he left for England duty. His relationship with Benítez is understood to nothing like the disaster some were suggesting, and although Real Madrid would be the most likely destination for the club captain should he leave, some reports suggest a move to Inter Milan should not be ruled out. Fernando Torres is another player unwilling to confirm he’ll definitely be at Anfield next season.
With no manager in place to block any of those sales, there is deep concern amongst fans that the squad could be decimated over the course of the summer. Of even more concern is how much of the funds brought in from those sales would actually be put back into the transfer budget for the next manager.
Some fans feel the perceived reluctance of certain board members to go along with the popular choice amongst fans of Kenny Dalglish as next manager suggests that they might just know he won’t be happy with their plans for the use of that transfer income.
The move is inevitable if they meet the asking price of 10million and that’s exactly what the Liverpool board should be saying.
He’s not going anywhere if they offer less an its as simple as that.
The move is inevitable if they meet the asking price of 10million and that’s exactly what the Liverpool board should be saying.
He’s not going anywhere if they offer less an its as simple as that.
That said, who the hell sanctions it anyway – presumably this money goes straight back into Hicks pockets
I bet Martin Broughton sanctioned it he his ripping our club a part thought he was in yer to sell the club not all our sodding assets
Martin Broughton will do as he’s told by H&G
Broughton was brought in to sell the club and that’s what he’s going to do… the sum of the parts… player by player , Broughton is going to strip LFC of it’s prize assets…!! and the fans will wake up to this reality ultimately..!!
According to ESPN Chelsea have made a 50 million offer for Torres.
And it will be accepted.
Liverpool are in deep deep trouble because of Tom Hicks – he will not sell below £600m and no one will pay that amount. Of course Hicks will dare to do anything he wants, he cares nothing for the club and would sell the light bulbs and plumbing if he had to.
In the short term the stars WILL be sold and the club may be repossessed by RBS and the most we can hope for is that the club remains a force in the PL.
In the medium term the club will have to be rebuilt from the ground up.
In the long term with good management it can be restored to its former glories, it certainly has the fan base.
I’m not being pessimistic just realistic and it is realistic and effective for the fans to boycott the club while H&G are owners. HIT ‘EM HARD.
Is that true Juan? Actually just read it. They can fuck off. If the worst has to happen and he is to leave please god let it be Barca that get him not Chelsea. All this is bad enough without having to watch him bang in the goals for them.
No manager, No money, No players, No hope.
so the bastards have started this is it my friends the start of the assest strip.
these people are lying creeps who dont care about the fans,the club, its history, or any thing else to do with the club. only the money they can stral from us.
boycott every game and stop their money supply then they would have to sell.
stand out side of the ground and protest.
they will still sell every thing they can you where warned it would happen, and so it begins.
The papers are claiming that Liverpool have denied a 50 million approach from Chelsea for Torres and they say any such approach will be refused.
Thats it, hes off so 😉