Liverpool boss Roy Hodgson has rejected claims by Rafael van der Vaart that he tried to sign the Dutch midfielder, insisting such stories are 'very irritating'.
Van der Vaart joined the Reds' Champions League-chasing rivals Tottenham on transfer deadline day in a deal worth £8 million. The former Real Madrid man later claimed on Sky Sports News: "Liverpool was interested, Bayern were never interested, but you have to have a good feeling and this manager gave me a good feeling and I am really happy to be going to Spurs."
Hodgson told a very different story on Friday though, revealing he was offered Van der Vaart by the player's agent. And, having already captured Joe Cole, the Liverpool boss saw no need to add another 'in the hole' type of attacker.
"No, that's not true," Hodgson said of Van der Vaart's claim on the official Liverpool website. "Those stories can get very irritating.
"An agent rings you up to ask if you want to sign Van der Vaart, you say 'no' and then the next minute you're one of the clubs that want to sign him.
"I apologize to Van der Vaart if his agent gave him another story. I think he's a very good player, but he's not the profile of the player we were looking for.
"When it came up I said, 'no, we have players in his position.'"
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