Wednesday, June 08, 2011

Liverpool And Sunderland Agree Jordan Henderson Deal

Liverpool and Sunderland have agreed a deal thought to be worth about £20m for midfielder Jordan Henderson.

The 20-year-old England international will travel to Liverpool for a medical and to discuss personal terms.

"A fee has been agreed with Liverpool for Jordan Henderson and he travels to Anfield with the club's blessing," said a Sunderland statement.

Sunderland had rejected Liverpool's previous offer for the player, which was thought to be worth £16m.

The Anfield club hope a deal can be finalized before Henderson joins England's Under-21 squad on Wednesday for the European Championships.

Striker David Ngog, 22, could move in the opposite direction as part of the deal, but that is yet to be confirmed.

The Sunderland-born Henderson had a loan spell at Coventry City early in his career and signed a five-year contract at the Stadium of Light in April 2010.

He came to prominence as Steve Bruce's Black Cats made a fine start to the season and was rewarded with an England call-up by coach Fabio Capello.

He won his first full England cap in the friendly defeat by France at Wembley in November.

And even though his form dipped as Sunderland struggled in the second half of the campaign, Henderson is still regarded as one of England's brightest young prospects.

Manchester United had been regarded as the long-time favourites to sign Henderson after he made an outstanding start to last season, but their interest cooled and manager Sir Alex Ferguson has moved on to other midfield targets.

Henderson's potential acquisition fits in with Liverpool's policy under Kenny Dalglish, director of football Damien Comolli and owners Fenway Sports Group to pursue young, and preferably English, talent.

Ipswich's teenage striker Connor Wickham and Blackburn Rovers defender Phil Jones are also believed to be Anfield targets.

Liverpool Prepare £11m Bid For Scottish Midfield Ace

Liverpool boss Kenny Dalglish is ready to make a move for Blackpool midfielder Charlie Adam when the summer transfer window opens for business according to reports in the Daily Star.

Dalglish has completed the deal to bring Sunderland's Jordan Henderson to Anfield in the summer for £20m and is now turning his attentions to playmaker Adam.

The 25-year-old had an impressive debut season in the Premiership with Blackpool despite the club getting relegated on the final day of the season.

Adam's performances where recognized by his peers as he was nominated for the PFA Players' Player of the Year award for last season.

Liverpool made a move for the Blackpool playmaker in the January transfer window but a bid of £7m was turned down and Blackpool chairman Karl Oyston is looking for in the region of £10m this time around.

Dalglish will face competition from Tottenham who were also interested in acquiring the services of Adam in January.

The Scottish international only has a year remaining on his current contract at Bloomfield Road, and Adam has stated he does not want to return to the Championship which could force Blackpool to cash in on their prized asset.

Last season Adam made 36 appearances for Blackpool in all competitions and scored 13 goals.

Jones And Dann In Demand

Skysports.com understands Arsenal and Liverpool are going head-to-head for defensive duo Phil Jones and Scott Dann.

Blackburn's versatile youngster Jones and Birmingham centre-back Dann are both thought to be top targets for the Gunners and Reds as they look to bolster their defensive options this summer.

Emirates chief Arsene Wenger has made a new central defender one of his top priorities, while Anfield boss Kenny Dalglish is looking to bolster his squad as he seeks to get the side back in the top four.

Jones, who has also been employed in midfield for Rovers, is thought to be both Arsenal and Liverpool's number one target.

The North London club has held a long-term interest in the England Under-21 international and had a bid rejected for Jones last summer.

The Gunners are thought to have made new enquiries for Jones, but Liverpool is ready to rival their Premier League counterparts for his signature.

Jones fits in with Liverpool's policy under new manager Kenny Dalglish and owners Fenway Sports Group to pursue young and preferably British talent.

However, both sides are also keen on dominant defender Dann and are ready to move for the 24-year-old following Birmingham's relegation.

Dann has established himself as one of the best young defenders in the country during the last two seasons and his absence in the heart of the Blues defence for the second half of last season through injury contributed to the club's eventual relegation.

The 6ft 2in Dann, who been likened to Alan Hansen and Tony Adams, is believed to be keen to stay in the Premier League and the lifelong Liverpool fan would jump at the chance of a move to Anfield if his boyhood heroes firmed up their interest.

With Jones valued in the region of £16million and Blackburn reluctant to lose the 19-year-old, Dann could find himself the preferred option of both Liverpool and Arsenal as he could represent better value for money option at £10million.

Barcelona's Jeffren Proud To Hear Of Interest From Liverpool

Barcelona winger Jeffren Suarez says he is proud of interest from Liverpool and has told fans to "see what happens" this summer.

It looks set to be a busy couple of months at Anfield, with the club already linked with several big-name signings including Sunderland’s Jordan Henderson and Jeffren’s Barca team-mate Bojan Krkic.

"I am not thinking about anything like that [my future] at the moment. I just want to concentrate on this [the Under-21 European Championships with Spain]," Jeffren told Spanish radio station Cadena Ser.

"It makes me proud that teams like Liverpool are interested in me. We’ll see what happens."

The 23-year-old has been limited to just 23 senior appearances since his break through into the Barca first team in 2008 and could be interested in a switch to Anfield to ensure more regular first-team football.

'I Will Only Leave Real Madrid For An English club' - Lassana Diarra

Real Madrid midfielder Lassana Diarra has confirmed he would only leave the Spanish giants for a return to the Premier League.

The French international has been linked with a move back to England with Manchester United, Liverpool and Tottenham reported to be interested in the former Portsmouth man and he has refused to rule out a move.

“If I have to leave Madrid then it is only for the Premier League," he told skysports.com.

“I loved my time there, specially my last year [at Portsmouth] before Madrid, as I won the FA Cup.”

The 26-year-old joined Real Madrid in 2009 but has struggled to establish himself in their starting line-up.

However he admits leaving would be a step down as he feels his already at the biggest club on the planet.

"But I am at Real Madrid, the greatest club in the world," he added.

Aquilani Has Not Been Approached By AC Milan, Says Agent

The agent of Alberto Aquilani has denied reports in Italy that his client has been approached by AC Milan.

The Italy midfielder spent this season on loan at Juventus from Liverpool but the Turin giants have yet to confirm if they will sign the 26-year-old on a permanent basis.

Milan are looking to reinforce their midfield line following the departure of Andrea Pirlo to Juve and reports in Italy have strongly linked Aquilani to the San Siro outfit this summer.

"I can say that I am not aware of any interest from AC Milan," said Aquilani's agent Franco Zavaglia to Gazzetta dello Sport. "They are just rumours and we have had no contact with Milan.

"Juve have asked us for a few days to reflect and in the meantime, we are looking at the options in Italy and abroad.

"I don't think the problem has to do with the buy-out clause but rather that they (Juventus) are looking for someone whose characteristics are more defensive.

"We will see what happens.

"Whatever happens, Alberto is not left in the middle of the road as he still has three years left of his contract with Liverpool."

Liverpool signed Aquilani for a reported fee of £20million from Roma in 2009.

Aquilani scored twice in 33 league appearances for Juventus this season.

LFC Supports National Family Week

LFC's community team was out in force at Liverpool One this weekend as part of National Family Week.

Chavasse Park was full of free entertainment, games, activities and giveaways - and a team of staff from LFC were there throughout guiding willing participants around a football obstacle course.

More than 500 children (and many parents!) put their skills to the test and, after completing the course, were rewarded with a special Tactics 4 Families 'Family Fixture Card', an LFC balloon and a discount voucher for the LFC Superstore.

On the main stage our coaches led an activity as part of National Family Week's Generation Game and we gave prizes to all the participants and the winning families. We also took part in adjudicating a world record attempt for the most hot dogs made in a minute!

Liverpool Football Club is delighted to officially support National Family Week.