Rafael Benitez today revealed Liverpool’s interest in Roma winger Alessandro Mancini is over, despite claims of a fresh bid from the player’s agent.
Liverpool did show an interest in the Brazilian earlier in the summer, but Benitez opted to sign Ryan Babel instead.
Now, with Mancini negotiating a new deal with the Italian side, his representative is claiming Benitez is still pursuing the 27-year-old.
But Benitez said today: “I was reading stories about Mancini. I can say that Liverpool will not be offering any money for this player.”
There are suspicions the player’s agent is using the Reds to improve terms at the Olympic Stadium.
Benitez and his 25-man squad arrived in Switzerland yesterday.
Youngster Jack Hobbs and Stephen Darby are among those included in the party, as well as all the recent recruits.
Fabio Aurelio is also with the squad and training again, although Benitez says he won’t be able to play for a month as he nears recovery from a ruptured Achilles.
Scott Carson, who enjoyed extra time off due to the Under-21 European Championships, is also back in training.
The manager hopes the documents to allow both Lucas Leiva and Sebastian Leto to feature in the pre-season games will arrive during the course of the week.
The Reds play their first Swiss game against Werder Bremen tomorrow.
Liverpool did show an interest in the Brazilian earlier in the summer, but Benitez opted to sign Ryan Babel instead.
Now, with Mancini negotiating a new deal with the Italian side, his representative is claiming Benitez is still pursuing the 27-year-old.
But Benitez said today: “I was reading stories about Mancini. I can say that Liverpool will not be offering any money for this player.”
There are suspicions the player’s agent is using the Reds to improve terms at the Olympic Stadium.
Benitez and his 25-man squad arrived in Switzerland yesterday.
Youngster Jack Hobbs and Stephen Darby are among those included in the party, as well as all the recent recruits.
Fabio Aurelio is also with the squad and training again, although Benitez says he won’t be able to play for a month as he nears recovery from a ruptured Achilles.
Scott Carson, who enjoyed extra time off due to the Under-21 European Championships, is also back in training.
The manager hopes the documents to allow both Lucas Leiva and Sebastian Leto to feature in the pre-season games will arrive during the course of the week.
The Reds play their first Swiss game against Werder Bremen tomorrow.
My Say: I never thought that Mancini would be good enough to challenge Ryan Babel or Jermaine Pennant for a regular starting place in the Liverpool squad. Should Benitez is interested to look for pacy, nippy winger, look no further than Aiden McGeady who currently plays for Celtic in Scotland.
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