|
|
發表於 2007-6-30 21:29:20
|
顯示全部樓層
Liverpool to land £26.5m Torres
By Phil McNulty
Chief football writer
Torres scored 14 goals last season for Atletico
Liverpool are on the brink of sealing a club record £26.5m deal to sign Atletico Madrid's Fernando Torres.
BBC Sport understands a transfer has now been agreed between Liverpool and Atletico, with Diego Forlan replacing the departing Torres.
Liverpool's Luis Garcia is likely to go in the opposite direction for £4.5m, but the Torres deal will not collapse if he rejects the switch.
Boss Rafa Benitez is being linked with Manchester United's Gabriel Heinze.
Argentine defender Heinze is currently playing in the Copa America, but there is growing speculation Liverpool will try to do a deal for the 29-year-old.
It may prove complicated, however, with fierce rivals Liverpool and United notoriously reluctant to sell players to each other.
Torres is Liverpool's main priority, and there is hope that he could put pen to paper within the next few days.
Atletico's announcement that they had agreed to sign £15m-rated former Manchester United striker Forlan on a four-year deal from Villarreal is effectively confirmation that Torres is on his way to Anfield.
606: DEBATE
I for one am excited about Torres, even for £26.5m
HC
Liverpool officials are playing their cards close to their chest on what will be a move that shatters their previous club record deal, the £14m paid to Auxerre for Djibril Cisse three seasons ago.
But it is understood the framework of the Torres move is finally in place between the two clubs after lengthy and complicated negotiations - although Liverpool remain cautious until it is actually signed and sealed.
Liverpool's approach is understandable given that Torres has reportedly been leaving Atletico for several seasons, only for moves to fall at the final hurdle.
Spanish international Garcia is expected to sign for Atletico, but if he remains at Anfield, Liverpool's new owners George Gillett and Tom Hicks will pay straight cash for Torres.
Torres, 23, is currently on holiday until early July, but Benitez remains hopeful of confirming the deal then, with personal terms not expected to be a problem.
Atletico fans held a protest at the possible deal, and a club spokesman has tried to cool suggestions that move is now imminent.
The spokesman said: "The player is on holiday at the moment and will report back to training on 9 July for an Intertoto match.
"At the moment, any talk of a move is just speculation and we are still hopeful that Fernando will be with us next season."
Atletico are reluctant to sell, but Torres is believed to be keen to link up with Benitez.
Benitez wants to land Torres to provide a spearhead for an assault on the title - and also allow Gillett and Hicks to demonstrate their own financial commitment to his plans.
Torres has been consistently linked with a move to England, particularly with Arsenal and Chelsea, but Liverpool are now set to win the race.
If he signs, he will join fellow countrymen Garcia, Pepe Reina and Xabi Alonso, as well as boss Benitez.
Gil Marin, Atletico's major shareholder insisted that Torres is not irreplaceable.
"Nobody is indispensable. No player by himself, very good though he is, is able to make a team achieve its aims," Gil Marin said on Punto Radio.
"We have spoken to him and told him we would like him to stay. It is normal that he has doubts. It is normal that the offers and everything surrounding them has made him think."
Torres, 23, scored 14 league goals in 36 starts this season as Atletico finished seventh in La Liga.
The Spain international's Atletico contract runs until 2009.
Torres came up though the youth ranks at Atletico and has been their leading scorer in each of the last five seasons.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/europe/6239286.stm |
|
IP卡
狗仔卡
顯身å¡
發表於 2007-6-30 19:00:00
