The release clause of £15m has been activated and all thats left is for the two clubs to agree a payment schedule which could be tricky but it seems pretty much done.
The 3 most reliable sources for Liverpool in Journalism are also reporting this but this is the most reliable:
Liverpool raise the stakes to trigger Allen's release clause
Tony Barrett
Published 1 minute ago
Liverpool are set to make Joe Allen their second major signing of the summer after triggering a release clause in the Wales internationalâs contract with Swansea City by tabling a £15 million bid.
The two clubs are now expected to hold further talks over the next 48 hours to establish a payment schedule, with Swansea bound to allow Allen to speak to Liverpool according to the terms of his contract.
Liverpool had initially offered £10 million for the 22-year-old and also gave Swansea the option of taking Jonjo Shelvey on loan next season as part of the proposed deal. That offer was rejected because of the insistence of Huw Jenkins, the Swansea chairman, that no makeweights would be acceptable and Liverpool have now returned with an offer that meets his requirements.
Allen returned to full training yesterday after his involvement in the Great Britain team at the Olympics. Michael Laudrup, the Swansea manager, will now have to decide whether to include the midfielder in his squad for Saturdayâs friendly against Stuttgart in the knowledge that his departure now appears inevitable.
Should the transfer be concluded, as expected, it will mean Allen is reunited with Brendan Rodgers, his former manager at Swansea, who confirmed yesterday that Liverpool would be willing to sell Daniel Agger to Manchester City if they receive a âridiculous offerâ for the defender.
Liverpool have rejected two bids from City for the Denmark international, the second valuing Agger at about £20 million. But they are prepared to do business if their asking price is met, with Rodgers hoping to use the proceeds from any sale to reinvest in his squad.
Liverpool have made it clear to Brian Marwood, Cityâs chief football administration officer, that they are seeking a fee of about £27 million for Agger. That valuation may appear unrealistic given the 27-year-oldâs patchy fitness record, but Liverpool regard Agger as one of Europeâs best defenders and want a fee that reflects that status.
Rodgers claimed that Paris Saint- Germainâs recent signing of Thiago Silva has established the market rate for central defenders. âSilva has left AC Milan for PSG for £40 million,â he said. âHe [Agger] is one of the leading players in European football, so it is going to be a big valuation. Every player has a price and top centre halves are at a premium.â
Asked if Liverpool had received offers from City, Rodgers said: âYes, but nowhere near the valuation of what the player is worth. You can only consider something like that if it is going to benefit you.
âOf course, you might lose a top player but if it benefits you going forward, and you can make two or three steps because of it, you may have to consider it. But we donât want to sell him, so unless someone comes in with a ridiculous offer that makes you look at it and think you can benefit in one or two other areas, there is no way I want to lose one of my best players.
âDaniel is a top player and any manager will tell you that they donât want to lose their best players. But I suppose at every club, every player has a price.â
Despite the uncertainty surrounding him, Agger has been named in the Liverpool squad for tonightâs Europa League qualifier against Gomel at Anfield, with Rodgers confident that he will not be distracted either by Cityâs interest or his own clubâs willingness to sacrifice the player.
âDaniel and I have had a number of conversations so he knows where I am at, he knows where the club are at and he doesnât want to leave which is great,â Rodgers said. âIn my first conversation with Daniel at the Euros he made that quite clear. He loves the club, loves the supporters, so that was music to my ears. But weâll see.â
Luis Suárez, who was the subject of formal interest from Juventus before signing a new contract earlier this week, will definitely start the game, with Liverpool defending a 1-0 lead from the first leg.
But Rodgers was unwilling to offer similar guarantees about Andy Carroll, other than indicating that the forward âwill be in the squadâ. Carroll missed last weekâs first leg in Belarus with a slight groin strain amid continuing interest from Newcastle United and will also be sold if Liverpoolâs £20 million asking price is met.
Tellingly, Rodgers did not mention Carroll when referring to the attacking options available to him, preferring to cite only Steven Gerrard, Fabio Borini, Stewart Downing and Suárez.
Liverpool (probable, 4-3-3): J Reina â G Johnson, M Skrtel, J Carragher, J Enrique â J Spearing, S Gerrard, C Adam â F Borini, L Suárez, S Downing.
FC Gomel (possible, 4-2-3-1): V Bushma â S Matveychyk, I Voronkov, P Kirylchik, D Klimovich â M Kashevski, S Kazeka â A Lyavitski, T Nowak, D Platonaw â A Alumona.
Television: ESPN (8.05pm kick-off).
http://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/sport/...cle3502239.ece