Saturday, June 30, 2007

Rafa Coy Over Torres Talk

Rafa Benitez is remaining coy over the prospect of Fernando Torres arriving at Anfield, even if the Liverpool boss insists the club is working hard to secure new signings.

Whilst The Reds have brought in a number of talented youngsters over the summer - with two more joining on Friday - a big name arrival remains conspicuous by its absence.

Atletico Madrid striker Torres is likely to be the first at a club record £27million, as the two clubs are understood to have held extensive talks regarding a transfer for the Spanish international.

The Primera Liga club has denied that Torres' exit is a done deal, but Atleti fans have been holding public protests at his likely departure and, according to reports, Liverpool must only agree personal terms to snare the highly-rated forward.

Whilst Benitez was reluctant to pre-empt any deal for Torres, the two-time UEFA Champions League finalist did admit the club were working hard to bring in some exciting names before the start of next season.

"All I can say is that Fernando Torres is one of the players we have looked at," said Benitez.

"Yes, [new signings are] the idea. We are working on this all the time.

"As I've already said, the spine of the team is in place and now we just need to add to that.

"Of course, you must always be excited at the start of a new season. You must also have confidence in your team and hopefully we will soon bring in the new players that we want to make the squad better."

Benitez has frequently called on the club's new owners to deliver some high-profile signings, but a parallel policy has been to bring a number of young talents to Merseyside.

Swedish midfielder Alex Kacaniklic has joined from Helsingborgs, as previously confirmed by skysports.com, and The Reds also recruited striker Marvin Purie from Borussia Dortmund on Friday.

They join teenagers Mikel San Jose, Nikolay Mihailov, Krisztian Nemeth and Andras Simon in joining the academy ranks on Merseyside.

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