Dirk Kuyt and Owen Hargreaves could be headed to the Premiership, while Newcastle are moving for Collins John instead of Obafemi Martins.
Liverpool
Dirk Kuyt has told Feyenoord that he wants to join Liverpool (Champions League wins out again over UEFA Cup) and if reports are to be believed, the only stumbling block seems to be Kuyt’s price-tag, with Liverpool’s expected to be around 10 mil and that too in staggered payments.
Kuyt will face considerable competition for a starting berth at Liverpool this season, especially if Benitez sticks to his 4-5-1 system. Having said that, he has shown enough talent in the Dutch league to suggest that he could be a force to be reckoned with and his capture would complete Liverpool as a very strong squad.
Whether that would be enough to stop Chelsea, Manchester United or Arsenal from winning the title still remains to be seen.
Newcastle United
The Guardian reports that a deal has been signed between Fulham and Newcastle United for Collins John, with the striker reputed to cost around 5 mil.
There are also reports that Newcastle will be moving for Wayne Bridge in the next week (a move held up only by Cole’s protracted transfer sage) although the transfer fee quoted has been embarrassingly low (1.5 mil). Bridge is a better left-back than that, although with Chelsea we have seen a trend of cut-price sales. Combined with the Duff purchase and the suspected John buy, this deal would take Newcastle United’s summer spending to around 12 mil, and for a club with Newcastle’s history of free-spending that is a nice, nice amount.
What Newcastle United still need (after Boumsong went off to Hamburg on loan) is a central defender.
Also, interestingly enough Gravesen is now being rumoured to join Celtic instead of Newcastle United. Why Roeder would go for him is a good question, because in my view moving for Gravesen is a step backwards for Newcastle United. Work with Butt, and spend on shoring up the defence and attack.
Manchester United
Well well well…Owen Hargreaves has stated in an interview with SportsBild that he is considering a very lucrative offer from Manchester United. More on this story here.
While it all ties in with my master plan for Manchester United (get Hargreaves, rule the Premiership), the fact is that unless there is word from either club we can’t really do much but speculate. The interview is nice, but the 17 mil transfer tag is not, and one wonders whether Manchester United have that much money to spare. I’m hoping they have much more, because on the looks of it if Hargreaves comes to Manchester United we are one striker away from kicking serious butt in the Premiership and in the Champions League.
More transfer news as it happens.
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