Liverpool are preparing a bid for Aston Villa's 24-year-old forward Christian Benteke, but will not lodge it until after Villa have played Arsenal in the FA Cup final on Saturday. (Times - subscription required) Title-winning former Liverpool striker John Aldridge says the club need to sign "leaders, goalscorers and big characters" - yet fears it may not happen. (Liverpool Echo) please log in to view this image Liverpool Transfer News: DOUBLE done deal, £20m Benteke BID, Walcott to SIGN, Sterling STARSPORT bring you the latest news coming out of Anfield. By Jack Wilson / Published 27th May 2015 Liverpool will step up their attempts to sign Christian Benteke after the Aston Villa striker has played in the FA Cup Final, according to the Express. Anfield officials have an established working relationship with Villa’s director of recruitment, Paddy Reilly, who only moved back to the Midlands in November following a spell working at Liverpool. Benteke is thought to have a clause in his contract which will trigger his departure if activated – various sums in excess of £20m have been reported – and Liverpool will seek to move quickly on their first choice transfer target ahead of a pivotal summer. Raheem Sterling wants to quit Liverpool to move to Arsenal or Chelsea, according to the Mirror. It's claimed the England star, 20, is desperate to move back down south to London. That could lead to Theo Walcott joining from the Gunners as he's said to be desperate for more first-team football. Liverpool have announced both Kolo Toure and Andre Wisdom have penned new deals to stay at Anfield. Toure, who was out of contract this summer, has penned a one-year deal while Wisdom has agreed terms until the summer of 2019. The double announcement was made on the Reds' official website last night. Toure had looked likely to leave after finding first-team opportunities limited at Anfield. http://www.dailystar.co.uk/sport/football/444521/Liverpool-News-and-transfers Express: Target's future unclear 26th May 2015 - Media Watch please log in to view this image This story has been reproduced from today's media. It does not necessarily represent the position of Liverpool Football Club. please log in to view this image Liverpool target Carlos Tevez has been told it's up to him whether he signs a new deal at Juventus. The Reds are keen to bring Tevez back to the Premier League to fill the void left by Luis Suarez last season. The 31-year-old is expected to leave Juventus if the Italian giants win the Champions League this season. Along with a return to the Premier League, Tevez has also been linked with a move back to his former side Boca Juniors. Juventus' director general Giuseppe Marotta told Gazzetta dello Sport: "We'll meet with him after the Champions League final. "We want him to stay, but now the ball is in his court."
Have to diagree with this. I think as a defender in an expansive team he is the bees knees. He might not be the most technical and his positioning for a deep line may be a bit suspect but as a 1on1 defender he would smother any winger he was up against as he had the speed and acceleration to recover and keep up with wingers and had the strength to outmuscle both small and large opponents. I dont know why he gets such a bad rep from certain liverpool fans. His biggest flaw is that he isnt great attacking wise and cant cross whilst holding onto the ball too long. As a defender thougj hes as solid as they come Injuries look to have ruined him though
Looks like Rodgers is hell bent on bringing in a target man which means we'll be sticking with a 4-2-3-1. Last season (well the season with SAS) won't be seen again anytime soon I reckon, Rodgers wants to play a different way. Benteke has done alright at a team like Villa who play to his strengths. If we play like Villa, then I'm sure he'll be decent but there is no evidence that we will continue playing the way we would like and expect Benteke to adapt to our style. Genuinely concerned going into next season if rumoured transfers take place.
1 on 1 defending is only a small part of defending. Everything else about his game is atrocious. His positioning, concentration, marking, intelligence.
according to sources rodgers doesn't want benteke but someone else does.... no bid will go in til august.
Agreed that 1 on 1 defending is the end all and be all (bramble had the attributes and so did Traore but both are terrible) but i think you are underrating Jose. I just think hes a solid defender but doesn't offer much going forward (like a more solid version of manquillo). Guess this is something we will have to agree to disagree
Enrique main issue was his head was always down and he'd just have to take 6 touches before passing it. In reality he was a better plater than moreno as moreno just cannot defend
We've targeted Bony, Balotelli and now Benteke - Rodgers wants to play with a target man. Not sure why considering we had more success playing with a mobile attack.
Well I don't think Rodgers wanted Mario at all and if MITO is right with his above post he doesn't want Benteke either. He is not the type of manager to play with target men, look what he did with Carroll! I think if we just keep signing players the manager doesn't want then he should resign, i'd respect that and it would expose our bullshit committee
The whole thing just doesn't make sense really. Rodgers did play with a target man at Swansea, and he has played 4-2-3-1 for most of his career, so I do think the target man type of striker is what he wants. I'm a fan of the committee but there is clearly some disagreement and the whole strategy looks really messed up. Either give the manager full control or none.
