Europa League Play-Off Preview: Liverpool vs Trabzonspor

Roy Hodgson’s reign as Liverpool manager so nearly got off to the perfect start on Sunday, though the former Fulham boss, who enjoyed such great success in the Europa League last term, will now hope his first success in the Reds’ dugout comes against Trabzonspor. Faced with Arsenal on the opening day of the Premier League, David Ngog shot ‘Pool into the lead early in the second half, despite Joe Cole having been sent-off in the first period. Only a Pepe Reina error late on denied Hodgson’s men three points and they will be expected to immediately bounce back on Thursday.

Trabzonspor will provide significant opposition. As the most successful non-Istanbul based Turkish outfit, much of the nation will be backing the six-time Super Lig champions, who qualified for the competition as cup winners last term. Like Liverpool, Bordo-Mavililer only has one competitive game under their belts this term, though unlike Liverpool they can boast that to be a victory. Teofilo Gutierrez grabbed a brace as Ankaragucu were defeated 2-0 at the weekend, getting the Black Sea Storm immediately into the winning habit. Thursday’s foes will be a big step up in comparison to the side that finished in the lower reaches of the Turkish standings last term.

TEAM NEWS

Liverpool

Roy Hodgson doesn’t have any injury or suspension worries going into this game. He may choose to give Joe Cole some additional time on the pitch as the former Chelsea man prepares to sit out a three-game domestic ban, but there could otherwise be a fair degree of rotation employed by the Cottagers’ boss.

Christian Poulsen isn’t eligible and with Fernando Torres struggling for peak fitness it’s unlikely the Spaniard will be seen.

Probable Starting XI: Cavalieri; Kelly, Carragher, Kyrgiakos, Agger; Kuyt, Leiva, Cole, Rodriguez; Babel, Ngog

Trabzonspor

Senul Gunhes hasn’t registered any selection worries going into this encounter, and it’s unlikely that he will make big changes from the weekend squad.

Probable Starting XI: Kivrak; Balci, Glowacki, Korkmaz, Cale; Colman, Gulselam, Inan; Yilmaz, Gutierrez, Alanzinho

Premier League Always The Priority, Says Hodgson

It may be nearly 40 years since Bill Shankly declared the domestic league campaign as Liverpool FC’s “bread and butter”, but the maxim remains true to this day.

Just ask Roy Hodgson. The circumstances may be somewhat different – Shankly’s comments came in the wake of a championship and UEFA Cup double – but it is with one eye firmly on the Premier League that the Anfield manager approaches tonight’s Europa League qualifying play-off first leg against Turkish cup winners Trabzonspor.

That Liverpool is even in the competition in the first place is testament to the travails of the previous campaign that saw Hodgson parachuted in to the top flight.

Of course, having guided Fulham to the final of the Europa League in May, the 62-year-old has recent experience of the effects a lengthy European run can have on domestic efforts.

And with Monday’s testing trip to title-chasing Manchester City sandwiched between both games against Trabzonspor, Hodgson admits Premier League points will take precedent over Continental aspirations.

It’s why skipper Steven Gerrard is among several players that started Sunday’s 1-1 draw against Arsenal who will miss out this evening, with Javier Mascherano nursing a calf strain and Daniel Agger yet to fully recover from concussion suffered at the weekend.

For Hodgson, the game therefore represents an early opportunity to gauge the strength in depth of his squad.

“You always have to have one eye on the Premier League games,” says the Liverpool manager. “We have got players who have played 90 minutes last week, 90 minutes on Sunday, maybe asked to play 90 minutes on Thursday, then 90 minutes on Monday, then 90 minutes on Thursday, then 90 minutes on Sunday.

“If you ask 11 players to do that then you are asking a lot of them. We have already lost two and I’m not sure how many more we are going to lose along the way. But we have a squad of players to deal with that.

“Hopefully a club of our stature has more than 11 players capable of playing at a top level, and it’s going to be up to me to make certain I choose the right ones for the games and I don’t get anybody into a situation that, thanks to being overplayed, they miss a lot more games.”

Indeed, Liverpool are in the midst of a busy spell of five matches in 15 days in which Hodgson is seeking to navigate a safe passage to the group stages of the Europa League and avoid a repeat of his players’ stuttering top-flight start of the previous campaign.

However, the hangover of the World Cup continues to force the manager into a series of creative compromises while attempting to prepare his players.

“That’s the nature of the business,” says Hodgson, who has confirmed Mike Kelly has joined from Fulham as the club’s new goalkeeping coach.

“If you take a job at a top Premier League club like Liverpool, you know a lot of things aren’t going to be ideal.

“You don’t get the players back when you want them, it’s spasmodic balancing who has done enough training and who hasn’t, and the season comes upon you so quickly.

“Hopefully with a bit of luck we can come through this period. I don’t think we had that luck in the first game maybe that will come in the games to follow.

“You do need a bit of luck to survive this period before you have stabilized things to your satisfaction.”

One player eager for an outing is Fernando Torres. The Spaniard made his first Liverpool appearance since April as a late substitute on Sunday, but is likely to remain on the bench this evening.

“Fernando is very keen,” says Hodgson. “If we decide he should start the game he would be ready to do so. He’s training and working hard and when I ask him how he’s doing he says he’s fine.

“Could he play on Thursday and against City? I don’t know if he is up to two games in four days.

“I would think he could do that though. He’s worked very hard since he rejoined with us. He has worked hard with the physical conditioning people.

“But what we must remember with Fernando, Pepe Reina, Dirk Kuyt and Ryan Babel are they are doing something of a pre-season with games going on around them. We have to not be blinded by the fact they are three to four weeks behind.”

Christian Poulsen, though, could be in line for a debut following his move from Juventus last week.

“He has had a pre-season with Juventus,” says Hodgson. “He started shortly after us.

“But the Italian clubs, because they start their season later on, they start by taking the players into the mountains and running them into the ground.

“Then three weeks before the season starts, they get the ball out, do some tactical work and play some games.

“Christian has done his running but hasn’t done much playing. The only question is whether he is capable of playing a match.”

Kenny Huang To Back Out Of Race To Purchase Liverpool If Club Does Not Decide The Winning Bid Soon

Chinese businessman Kenny Huang is set to give up on purchasing Liverpool as he is frustrated with the lack of progress his bid for the club is making.

With current Reds owners Tom Hicks and George Gillett looking to sell the club, Huang is one of the parties interested in buying, and submitted an offer for Liverpool.

The Liverpool board is verifying that each perspective owner has the funds they have offered and are deciding which bid they will accept, with the bidder that receives the majority of the votes getting control of the club.

According to The Guardian, Huang is growing impatient as he hoped to buy the club before the transfer season ends so that he can provide Reds boss Roy Hodgson with funds to strengthen the squad.

Frustrated with the fact that Liverpool has not made a decision on who will take over the team, Huang could now drop out of the running for the club if the Reds do not choose the winning bid soon.

Liverpool Set Sights On £16m Manchester City Pair As Hodgson Looks To Spend Potential Mascherano Windfall

Liverpool are considering a move for Manchester City pair Wayne Bridge and Roque Santa Cruz. Roy Hodgson is willing hoping to re-invest any potential incoming funds from the sale of Javier Mascherano and Emiliano Insua to bring in the Eastlands pair who does not appear to have a first team future at Eastlands.

Roberto Mancini is looking to trim his squad ahead of naming his 25 man Premier League squad and is looking to release some more of his ever expanding squad on loan but is willing to listen to decent offers for some of his players, including the England full back Bridge who has now fallen down the pecking order at the club.

Roque Santa Cruz only arrived at the club last summer for a fee of £17.5m but Man City may well accept offers of around £10m for the 29 year old and Roy Hodgson is keen to bring in new attacking options and is said to be a big admirer of the former Bayern Munich and Blackburn Rovers man who only managed six Premier League starts last season and is likely to see even less action this term.

Bridge would cost far less and would help resolve the left back problem the Merseyside club currently finds itself in. Daniel Agger had to fill in against Arsenal and Hodgson is keen to bring in a new full back as soon as possible.

Both players would probably jump at the chance of a new challenge and the only obstacle to such a move could be Mancini’s unwillingness to hand over his players to potential rivals to a top four finish.

Reds Capture Oldham Starlet

Liverpool has agreed a deal to take 14-year-old Oldham starlet Iaia Embarlo to Anfield for a sum of £25,000.

The Portuguese striker, who attended the Latics' centre of excellence, has moved for that initial fee with further add-ons included in the deal.

Embarlo is the latest youngster to leave Boundary Park for the Barclays Premier League, following Tom Eaves' move to Bolton earlier this month.

Greeks Face Fight For Nemeth

Krisztian Nemeth's agent has revealed that the Liverpool striker is attracting interest from a number of clubs other than Olympiakos.

Reports in Greece have suggested that Nemeth is poised to join Olympiakos after the two clubs agreed a deal for him to move.

The Hungarian's representative Viktor Kovesdi admits that negotiations have taken place over a switch but insists nothing has been decided yet.

Nemeth has failed to make the breakthrough at Anfield since arriving as an 18-year-old in 2007, but is still regarded as an exciting prospect for the future and Kovesdi says there is attention from elsewhere.

Speaking about the link with Olympiakos, the agent told Pepsifoci: "We can confirm that there have been talks between the two clubs.

"What is more they agreed about the details verbally, but there are numerous teams which want to sign Nemeth so his future is not decided at all.

"There are two other clubs which would like to get him and they go on as they want to be the winner for the striker's signature.

"Negotiations went so far with Olympiakos that we could turn onto the details of what the Greek side can offer for the player.

"But Nemeth hasn't travelled to Athens yet and he won't go there on Thursday because other clubs want him too."

According to Hungarian reports, Liverpool has offers for Nemeth from Portugal, Spain and Italy.

Hodgson Rejects Talk Of Babel Interest

Liverpool manager Roy Hodgson has dismissed rumours suggesting that Wolfsburg have made an offer for Dutch forward Ryan Babel.

The 23-year-old has struggled to make his mark at Anfield, but Hodgson is not about to sell the Netherlands international.

He told reporters: "I'm afraid we're in the realm of speculation. You know better than I how many stories you're getting every day and many of them are unfounded - many are attempts from people to get their players in the spotlight.

"We've had no written or formal offers for Ryan Babel and he's a player who I'm expecting to play for us."

Roy Hodgson Reveals He Tried To Sign David Ngog At Fulham

Liverpool manager Roy Hodgson has revealed he isn't surprised by David Ngog's scoring spree as he tried to bring the striker to Fulham.

Ngog, 21, has been in blistering form for the Reds and has scored four goals in three first team appearances this term. The France youth international struggled to make an impact last term and had looked to be on his way out under then manager Rafael Benitez.

Speaking to the club's official website, Hodgson admitted he had expected Ngog to shine and had made the centre forward a loan target in the New Year while in charge at Craven Cottage.

He said: "I wouldn't say he has surprised me. He is performing pretty much in the way I thought he could and should perform.

"In terms of judgement of front players, there's often a dual judgement - the judgement of the coach and the players who appreciate what he's doing, but if he's not scoring goals that won't be appreciated by other people such as fans and the mass media.

"I tried to loan him when I was at Fulham, but we were not allowed to because Liverpool didn't want to loan him out.

"We ended up taking Stefano Okaka from Roma, but when we were looking for some help up front we enquired about David Ngog and were told he wasn't available.

"So obviously I've always had some consideration for him."

Despite hitting new heights this campaign, Hodgson refused to set a target for the youngster and insisted he will stay as reserve to star man Fernando Torres.

"To get 20-25 goals a season you have to be playing in the region of 50-60 games," he stated.

"In reality, I wouldn't want that at the moment because that would possibly mean Torres isn't playing a lot of games.

"I don't set targets for him in terms of number of goals, my target for him is to be good enough to play in the Liverpool first team so that if I decided just to play with one forward, he could do what he has been doing for us so far."

Hodgson Would Be Happy To See Javier Mascherano Play Out Current Contract

Liverpool manager Roy Hodgson is prepared to allow Javier Mascherano to leave the club for free when his contract runs out in two years.

The Argentina international is keen to leave England due to family reasons and former Reds boss Rafael Benitez would like to bring Mascherano to Inter Milan with him.

However, the Serie A giants refuse to pay Liverpool’s asking price of £30 million, meaning that the midfielder will have to wait to leave until January at the earliest.

Hodgson, who took over for Benitez this summer after Liverpool finished a disappointing seventh in the Premier League last season.

With the Reds preparing for the first leg of their Europa League playoff tie against Trabzonspor at Anfield, Hodgson acknowledged that he would be happy to keep Mascherano at Liverpool for the next two seasons.

"I'd be quite happy to work the two years with him. If he then wanted to walk away, then so be it,” Hodgson told The Sun.

"The nicest thing of all would be if he signed a new contract, it's there for him. But nobody is putting him under any pressure.

"I'm very happy he remains with us because in an ideal world if it was simply a situation of 'would we be prepared to listen to offers for Mascherano', I would say 'no, we aren't'.

"It's only this promise that was made a year ago that lingers over my head, which means I'm even prepared to go as far as this.”

Hodgson revealed that Liverpool has not received a bid for Mascherano, and the Reds boss insists that they will not sell unless they get a proper offer.

"We haven't had an offer for him. We want one that meets what we think is his value and Javier is perfectly happy with this - he doesn't expect the club to just let him walk out of here.

"His problem is a familiar one that his wife doesn't come to Liverpool, so when he's here he lives alone.

"But he realizes he is a very valuable player, the best at what he does in the world and a club has to offer us what he is worth."

Liverpool Want My Help To Sell Club, Says Russell King

Russell King claims to have received "extensive ongoing requests from members of the board asking for assistance" in selling Liverpool. King was the consultant who brought the "consortium of Middle Eastern and European investors" – and Sven-Goran Eriksson – to Notts County last year, and whose involvement caused the Football League not to pass the takeover as fit and proper.

Soon afterwards the entire club went into crisis, nearly collapsing under the £6m debt it ran up in little more than six months. Digger can reveal that King had previously been involved in Liverpool's search for investment from Dubai in 2006. He says he was asked to attend a meeting with a director of a company belonging to Sheikh Mohammed, the emir of Dubai. Subsequently, and in continuation of that meeting, King claims, the Liverpool board then pursued the aborted deal with Dubai International Capital.

Others familiar with the situation say Liverpool board members travelled out to meet him in Dubai in 2006 and that it quickly became clear he could not fulfill the promise of an introduction to the sheikh, whereupon they broke off contact. Now, claims King, the current board has been in touch. He said: "The board in no way broke contact and there are extensive ongoing requests from members of the board asking for assistance."

The board declined to comment last night but an insider in the sale process stressed King has no official involvement. However, given the increasing desperation of the situation, Digger would not put it past someone getting in touch to ask for help.

Deschamps Happy To Reject Reds

Didier Deschamps insists he has 'no regrets' at having spurned the opportunity to join Liverpool.

In the wake of Rafa Benitez's departure earlier this summer, the Anfield hierarchy identified Deschamps as a possible candidate for their vacant managerial post.

They subsequently asked reigning Ligue 1 champions Marseille for permission to speak with their boss, keen to determine whether he would be interested.

However, the former France international made it clear from the start that he had no interest in taking the reins on Merseyside.

Deschamps, who helped Marseille to European Cup glory in 1993, feels a special affinity to his current employers and admits he would find it difficult to walk away from the job.

With that in mind, and with unfinished business to attend to at Stade Velodrome, the World Cup winner claims he is happy with the career choices he has made.

"Liverpool? I have no regrets," Deschamps told L'Equipe.

"With Marseille, the emotional aspect is very important. I preferred to sign an extension here rather than start again in a new place.

"I made that choice because I cam convinced that we have the ambition to do much more than we did last season, a lot more.

"That ambition depends on us bringing in three or four reinforcements though.

"Quality is important, but it has a price. I know we are in a difficult period economically, and we are in France, but I was convinced that we could keep our best players and bring in some new ones."

Martin Skrtel Signs Two-Year Contract Extension At Liverpool

Liverpool defender Martin Skrtel has signed a two-year extension to his current contract at Anfield, and now believes that the Reds are strong enough to win trophies.

The Slovakian was delighted to have extended his stay at the club having already enjoyed almost three years on Merseyside.

With his original deal having had another two years to run, he is looking forward to spending the next four years at Anfield.

"I'm very pleased," the defender told his club's official website.

"I have been at Liverpool for nearly three years and I really like it here. I like the city, I like the club and I like the fans so I'm happy I am able to sign a new contract.

"Liverpool is one of the biggest clubs in the world so I am proud I can play here for four more years.

"We have quality in the dressing room and I know we will do better this year. A club like Liverpool deserves to win trophies and I will help them do that, hopefully this season.

"Everyone plays football to win trophies. Playing for Liverpool is a big motivation for everyone and we will do everything we can to win the Premier League. We have the highest targets - to win everything."

Skrtel joined the Reds in January 2008 for £6 million. He believes that he has proved the doubters wrong in that time.

"Before I came here a lot of people thought I wasn't good enough to play for Liverpool, but I think I have shown I am," he added.

"I'm happy to try and carry on giving good performances and doing my best for the club. Signing a new contract gives me confidence and I will work hard in training every day to play as many games as possible. You can always improve. I know the good and bad parts of my game and I will keep working.

"Lots of things have changed at the club this year with new players, a new manager and new medical staff. The spirit is very good and we showed that against Arsenal with a great performance. We can build on that and carry it on."

Inter Still In The Hunt For Liverpool Midfielder Javier Mascherano

Inter could still snap up Liverpool midfielder Javier Mascherano this summer, according to tuttomercatoweb.

The Argentina captain had been linked with a move to the treble winners after Rafael Benitez was appointed coach at San Siro, but the speculation had died down recently as Barcelona seemed to be on the verge of signing the 26-year-old.

However, Blaugrana sporting director Andoni Zubizarreta recently denied reports that the club has reached an agreement to acquire the former Corinthians man.

With the midfielder seemingly unlikely to leave for the Camp Nou, Benitez could still link up with one of his favourites in Serie A.

Mascherano has excelled at Liverpool since his arrival in 2007, making nearly 140 appearances for the club.

Liverpool Goalkeeper Diego Cavalieri Signs For Cesena

Italian side Cesena have signed Liverpool goalkeeper Diego Cavalieri, according to a report in TuttoPalermo.

The 28-year old Brazilian signed from Palmeiras in 2008 for around €3.6m and although has yet to make his league debut for the club, he has appeared in both the Champions League and Liverpool's Europa League qualifier this season.

Cavalieri holds an Italian passport so the move will not be a problem, however no official announcement has been made regarding a fee and the length of contract. It is believed that Cesena will first take the keeper on loan for the season with a view to a permanent deal of just over €1.2m.

Cesena will kick off their Serie A campaign after promotion last year with a huge test away at Roma.

LFC Must Avoid Another Trabzonspor Horror Trip

October 1976 and Liverpool are through to the second round of the European Cup.

A 7-0 aggregate win over Belfast part-timers Crusaders has set up a journey into the unknown to face Turkish champions Trabzonspor.

In contrast to the short hop across the Irish Sea, this next trip took Bob Paisley’s side to one of Europe’s furthest outposts.

Nestled on the Black Sea coast of north eastern Turkey it was the furthest flung venture in Liverpool’s fledgling travels.

It was also a journey Paisley’s European champions in waiting would never forget.

“Trabzonspor in 1977 was the worst European trip,” said Ray Clemence some years later.

“The pitch had rocks all over it. The hotel was awful, we were woken by the noise of farm animals at 5am, the food was terrible and we lost 1-0.”

In short, nothing went right.

As Liverpool host the Turkish Cup winners at Anfield tomorrow night ahead of next week’s return in the Europa League play-off tie, another player on that trip, David Fairclough, sheds further light on the last time the Reds travelled to Trabzon.

While he hopes standards in the old trade port have improved with the passage of time, Fairclough explains why there is greater emphasis on the Reds getting the job done at Anfield.

Welcome to hell? It was last time he was there.

“I’m not sure what it’s like now but in those days it was such a headache just getting to Trabzon,” explains Fairclough.

“The main runway was that small it would only accept internal flights.

“We actually stayed in Ankara initially, where we trained before flying on to Trabzon for the game. It was very much a reduced group that went on to Trabzon, with barely any media and no supporters.

“I remember it so vividly simply because it was so shocking.

“It was just one thing after another.”

With Liverpool chasing the game after Cemil put the hosts in front from the penalty spot in the 65th minute, Fairclough replaced Steve Heighway 10 minutes later as the sleep-deprived Reds looked to salvage something to bring back to Anfield.

“There’s no doubt the conditions contributed to our losing over there,” continues Fairclough.

“As we pulled up to the hotel I remember Bob Paisley coming out with the now infamous words ‘they’ve put us in a doss house. I had better rations in my bivvy in the western desert,’ he said.

“It wasn’t the most impressive of places. The modern player probably wouldn’t be too happy about staying there but we had little alternative in those days. We were still finding our way in Europe.

“Then the hotel turned out to be right next to a prayer tower. Of course, they pray five or six times a day through what was a very basic public address system that wails out across the town.

“Rest wasn’t really easy to come by.

“After that, there were continuous electricity failures. There are images from the trip of the lads sitting round eating and playing cards by candle light.

“I remember going out for a walk with Jimmy Case and Ray Kennedy. There was nowhere to go. It was a very basic place.

“We just had to sit around the hotel and bide our time for the game.”

At least it was an afternoon kick-off. The 25,000 capacity Trabzon Sehir Stadt had no floodlights. If it had, there would have been no electricity to power them anyway.

It was a steep learning curve along the road to European domination.

Hygiene concerns saw Liverpool’s backroom staff cook their own food and even the match ball wasn’t fit for its purpose.

“It looked a little bit past its sell-by date,” is Fairclough’s diplomatic way of putting it.

Paisley didn’t hold back, however. “It was worse than a pig’s bladder at a Durham miner’s gala,” barked the usually reserved Geordie.

Naturally, Liverpool were glad to get back to Anfield where three goals inside the first 20 minutes put Trabzonspor to the sword and Paisley’s men into the third round.

It was here when Fairclough’s career-defining moment arrived; his 84th minute goal in the second leg at Anfield disposing of French champions St Etienne and sending Liverpool into the semi-finals on the way to Rome.

Now there is nothing he would love more than to see Roy Hodgson’s Reds end a four-year barren spell by lifting a trophy this season.

The Europa League presents one option and Fairclough believes Joe Cole and Fernando Torres can be key to progression into the competition proper.

“It’s over 30 years on and you would imagine it won’t be quite as intimidating for Liverpool.” he says.

“But we know just how passionate the Turkish fans are from recent trips to Galatasaray and Besiktas.

“We can’t leave too much to chance tomorrow night ahead of the return.

“We need goals and Joe Cole and Fernando Torres could be vital for us.

“Joe will be keen to make the most of his game time in light of his Premier League suspension and will probably figure heavily in both legs.

“Fernando is still on his way back so the more time he gets the better. A goal would give him masses of confidence.”

Hodgson To Make £3m Bid For Former Fulham Full-Back

Liverpool boss Roy Hodgson is closing in on a cut-price £3m deal for Paul Konchesky.

Hodgson is ready to raid his former club for the 29-year-old left back who only has one year left on his contract at Fulham.

Konchesky missed Fulham’s opener at Bolton last Saturday and is believed to be keen on following his former manager to Anfield.

Hodgson is having to wheel and deal on limited funds and a move for his old trusted left back would represent good business in his eyes.

Liverpool were forced to play Danish centre half Daniel Agger out of position at left back against Arsenal on Sunday because they are short in that position.

Emiliano Insua is surplus to requirements and a move to Fiorentina fell through last month while the club has re-signed Fabio Aurelio.

But that has not ended Liverpool’s interest in Konchesky as Hodgson remains a big admirer of a player he made a mainstay of his defence at Fulham.

Liverpool To Make Fresh Bid For West Ham Star

Scott Parker is the latest English player to emerge on Roy Hodgson's radar at Liverpool.

Despite West Ham's unwillingness to sell their 30-year-old captain, Parker is admired at Anfield where Roy Hodgson has been monitoring his situation for some time.

The Reds' next move depends on the future of Javier Mascherano who has declared his intention to leave the club but for whom there have been no firm offers.

Inter Milan had been in pole position to land him with Rafa Benitez keen on being united with his former midfield general. But Barcelona appeared yesterday to have entered the race with winger Lionel Messi urging the Spanish club to snap Mascherano up.

Parker, meanwhile, has yet to sign the five-year deal offered to him by West Ham in order to ward off interest from his many suitors.

The midfielder, well respected inside and outside the dressing room at Upton Park, still has three years left to run on his current deal, signed only last year.

But the Hammers made their dramatic offer after turning down an £8million bid from Spurs to sign the player several weeks ago.

Parker is known to be keen on Champions League football and is also tempted at the chance to play a part in reviving LIverpool's fortunes under Roy Hodgson.

Babel Could be Used As Makeweight In Ruiz Bid

Liverpool are hoping to secure the signing of highly rated Costa Rican Bryan Ruiz and Roy Hodgson is willing to offer Dutch winger Ryan Babel as part of a swap deal to help seal the FC Twente striker’s signature. The 24 year old goal machine has been a big hit in the Eredivisie, scoring 24 goals in his first season to help his side to their first ever domestic title.

A number of Europe’s elite have been monitoring the 24 year old for some time and the departure of Steve McClaren for Wolfsburg has appeared to have had an unsettling effect on the club as they started the new season with two limp draws.

The adaptable attacker can play in a number of positions but excels as a speedy striker and could be just the kind of player the Anfield manager is looking for as he attempts to boost his attacking options. Ryan Babel may be keen on a move back to his country of birth and may feel a move to a side competing in the Champions League may be a good step to take as opposed to reported interest from Birmingham City.

Ruiz is valued at around £14m so any deal could well involve the Merseyside club having to fork out some cash as well as the £9m rated Babel.

Wolfsburg Line Up Shock £9m Deal For Liverpool Midfielder

Liverpool is ready to sell flying Dutchman Ryan Babel to Steve McClaren’s German giants Wolfsburg in a shock £9 million deal.

Babel is wanted by McClaren’s wealthy club and talks between the clubs were at an advanced stage last night.

Boss Roy Hodgson has overlooked Babel so far as he plans for the season and it is up to the former Ajax player to accept the move as Wolfsburg will pay the fee.

The Babel sale would be a surprise windfall for Liverpool who has been trying to move out unwanted fringe men all summer without too much success.

Hodgson thinks he can do without Babel, whose erratic style has failed to impress since Rafa Benitez bought him a couple of years ago. The money would help with the club’s finances while they sort out their potential takeover.

Babel was also wanted by Birmingham City but Wolfsburg are the clear leaders in the race.

Liverpool Co-Owners Make Desperate Bid To Cling On To Power At Anfield

Despite announcing that the club was up for sale in April, Liverpool co-owners Tom Hicks and George Gillett have reportedly been plotting to remain in control, according to The News of the World.

Having spent the summer trying to re-finance their huge debts, the pair asked Barclays Capital and FBR Capital Bank to approach several investment banks to negotiate £290 million of debt, and if successful this would have freed the co-owners of their arrangement with the Royal Bank of Scotland and Wells Fargo which ends in October.

Chairman Martin Broughton, managing director Christian Purslow and commercial director Ian Ayre has made it clear that a sale of the club, not another refinancing agreement, is in the best interests of Liverpool FC.

The trio enlisted the advice of international law firm Slaughter and May as to whether the wishes of the club's owners could be opposed and were advised in favour of blocking Hicks and Gillett's plans.

This latest development contradicts the noises coming from Anfield's American co-owners over the past few months, which included statements announcing that the sale of the club was at the top of their agenda and more recent reports of 'advanced takeover talks' with Syrian businessman Yahya Kirdi.

Hicks and Gillett know that if they refinance and stay at the helm beyond their RBS debt payment deadline on October 6, they could possibly attract higher bids for their shares.

However, failure to meet a second debt payment deadline today means they will be hit with another £7.5 million charge. A third charge of £7.5 million will come into effect on August 31 and by the end of this month, the Americans' debt will have risen to an astonishing £282.4 million.

If they are unable to pay, then Liverpool face the real possibility of the RBS taking control of the club, with Liverpool FC being forced into administration and being hit with a nine-point penalty.