Monday, July 26, 2010

Liverpool Target £15m Atletico Madrid Star Diego Forlan As Fernando Torres Replacement

Liverpool manager Roy Hodgson is believed to be lining up Diego Forlan to replace Fernando Torres, amid fears that the Spanish international is ready to walk out of Anfield.

According to The People, the Kop chief is ready to build for the future and has his sights set on bringing the Atletico Madrid star back to the Premier League if his stellar striker decides to move on this summer.

The club's top-brass are said to have contacted Atletico officials in the past few days to check on the availability of the Uruguay star, and were quoted with a valuation of £15 million for the former Manchester United man.

Liverpool will make an official bid for Forlan if Torres departs and Hodgson isn't too optimistic on his chances of keeping his the World Cup 2010 winner following discussions in Spain.

Torres would cost around £50m, despite a disappointing tournament in South Africa, a fee that is most likely to deter any bid from interested clubs such as Chelsea.

However, the upside of Liverpool selling Torres would be that it would swell the club's coffers and provide Hodgson with money to spend on reinforcing the squad.

The former Fulham manager is already looking at other likely targets and has earmarked Ipswich Town's highly-rated young striker Connor Wickham as a possible one for the future.

The 17-year-old has been wooed by various top-flight clubs in the past few weeks, with the Tractor Boys already rejecting an £8.5m bids from Tottenham Hotspur and Arsenal.

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