Torres Demands New Owners

Fernando Torres is desperate for Liverpool to find new owners in order to bring the glory days back to Anfield.

Reds co-owners George Gillett and Tom Hicks put the club up for sale in April and Barclays Capital was appointed to oversee the process.

But a buyer has yet to be found, with Hong Kong businessman Kenny Huang abandoning his interest and uncertainty surrounding a consortium fronted by Yahya Kirdi.

Star striker Torres, who ignored interest from Chelsea and Manchester City in the summer to voice his commitment to Roy Hodgson's new-look Liverpool, hopes a solution can be found quickly.

"It is fundamental new owners arrive that can make us a competitive side," he told Spanish radio station Cadena Cope.

"We're not that far behind. We had an appalling season last time around, but the year before we were just four points from Manchester United.

"Hopefully we can find a consortium that buys the club and can make Liverpool able to fight financially with Chelsea and United.

"Then let's see what we're capable of doing this season. Liverpool kept Steven Gerrard which is fundamental. It's still a great team.

"It's a delicate situation because we are not in the Champions League, but it is still the biggest club in England and to play at Anfield every week is a privilege.

"That's how I see it. I like to have targets, and to be able to help bring Liverpool back where they deserve is a beautiful target.

"It is always complicated when you start with a new manager and new players, but we'll see what we are capable of."

Torres has also revealed that Liverpool rejected bids for his services in the summer transfer market.

"The club received offers and decided to reject them," he said. "That's where it ends. Everyone thought I was leaving for Spain during the World Cup when there was nothing in it.

"I said the day I returned to train that my future was at Liverpool. I have a contract until 2013.

"This year our target has to be the top four. Like every team-mate, we all want to improve and win titles and for that it is fundamental we get new owners."

Babel - I'm Going Nowhere

Liverpool attacker Ryan Babel has dismissed rumours of a move to Tottenham or West Ham, saying he is 'going nowhere'.

The 23-year-old has been the subject of intense speculation on the final day of the transfer window, but insists he will be staying at Anfield for the foreseeable future.

Babel was reported to be flying south in a helicopter on Tuesday, headed for the capital with both Spurs and the Hammers possible destinations.

The speculation was fuelled further by the fact that Liverpool made an offer for West Ham striker Carlton Cole, with Babel mooted to be part of any potential deal.

However, the Dutchman has committed himself to the cause under new boss Roy Hodgdson.

He wrote on his Twitter account: "I'm going nowhere. LFC all the way. YNWA!!! (You'll Never Walk Alone)."

Babel moved to Liverpool back in 2007 from Ajax in a deal thought to be worth £14million, but has failed to make a real impact since his arrival.

Liverpool Midfielder Lucas To Reject Stoke City Loan Move

Lucas is set to stay at Liverpool and fight for his first team place rather than move to Stoke City on loan, according to the Daily Mail.

The 23-year-old has been pushed down the Anfield pecking order by the arrivals of central midfielders Christian Poulsen and Raul Meireles.

After making 41 appearances and winning the club's Young Player of the Year award last season, the Brazilian was believed to be considering a move away.

Stoke made contact about a temporary switch to the Britannia Stadium, but Lucas has desired to stay and impress new manager Roy Hodgson.

West Ham United were also understood to have made an approach during negotiations to bring Carlton Cole to Liverpool.

Liverpool’s Nabil El Zhar Makes Loan Move To PAOK

Liverpool has confirmed that winger Nabil El Zhar has made a season-long loan move to Greek club PAOK.

The Morocco international had previously maintained that he wanted to leave the club owing to a lack of first-team football.

He was signed by former Reds boss Rafael Benitez in 2006, but has since struggled to make it into the first-team.

The 24-year-old midfielder has also been out-of-favour under current boss Roy Hodgson, as he has not featured for the Merseyside club since the former Fulham boss took charge at Anfield.

PAOK claim that they also have the option to make the temporary move permanent, if the player is found to be worthy.

A statement on the Greek club's website reads: "FC PAOK announced the acquisition of Nabil El Zhar. The Moroccan international footballer was given on loan for one year from Liverpool, with PAOK FC reserving the right to extend its cooperation with the footballer in the summer of 2011 and for the next three years."

Liverpool Lose Out In Bid To Sign West Ham Striker Carlton Cole

For the second successive season Liverpool have been left over-reliant on the form and fitness of Fernando Torres having failed to improve cover for a striker who has suffered two injury-plagued campaigns and, as Roy Hodgson conceded on Sunday, is not fully recovered from the knee problem that impacted on his World Cup. The Anfield club made a belated attempt to wrest Carlton Cole from West Ham United yesterday, having considered previous options over recent days, but several offers were unable to convince the Hammers to sell the England international.

Liverpool are believed to have offered Lucas Leiva, the Brazilian midfielder, and Ryan Babel, their Dutch international forward, in exchange for Cole but neither player wanted to leave Anfield for Upton Park. Babel reportedly travelled to London via helicopter in anticipation of a deal only to eventually Tweet that; "I'm going no where. LFC all the way. YNWA!!" as the clubs failed to agree on a valuation for Cole. With PSV Eindhoven's Ola Toivonen priced out of Liverpool's reach, and Bayern Munich refusing to release Mario Gómez even on loan, Hodgson will have to make do with Babel, David Ngog and Dirk Kuyt as cover for Torres until January.

The failure to sign a much-needed striker means Liverpool recouped more than they spent in this transfer window, another indication of the financial restrictions under the co-owners, Tom Hicks and George Gillett, and this after convincing Torres and Steven Gerrard to resist any overtures for their signatures in the summer.

Hodgson did at least resolve Liverpool's deficiency at left-back with the signing of Paul Konchesky from Fulham, the manager's former club, in a £3.5m deal that also sent promising youngsters Lauri Dalla Valle and Alex Kacaniklic in the opposite direction. The Liverpool left-back Emiliano Insua, who rejected a move to Fiorentina in the summer after a £5m deal had been agreed between the clubs, joined Galatasaray on a season's loan with a view to a permanent deal. The French midfielder Damien Plessis signed for Panathinaikos while Liverpool are still hopeful of releasing Nabil El Zhar and Charles Itandje on loan after the deadline.

Liverpool Fail In Last-Ditch Bid For Tottenham Striker

Liverpool has failed in an attempt to sign Tottenham striker Roman Pavlyuchenko.

Reds boss Roy Hodgson is desperate to sign another striker before the transfer window closes and was hoping to finalize a deal for Pavlyuchenko, who has failed to settle at White Hart Lane.

The Russian international has a proven track record and Hodgson was hoping he could forge a lethal partnership with Fernando Torres in the Liverpool attack.

But Tottenham boss Harry Redknapp was not prepared to let Pavlyuchenko leave the club and leave him short of strikers as they prepare to play in the Champions League group stages for the first time in the club's history.

Emiliano Insua Ends Liverpool Nightmare With Move To Galatasaray

Emiliano Insua has left Liverpool for Turkish giants Galatasaray on a season-long loan with an option to make the deal permanent.

The 21-year-old full-back has been at Liverpool for the past four years, having joined as a youngster from Boca Juniors.

However, he struggled to break into the side and recent signing of Paul Konchesky by the Anfield club put another hurdle in his path.

"Galatasary announce that Argentinian Emiliano Insua has joined from Premier League club Liverpool on a one-year loan with a purchase option agreement," Galatasaray said on their website.

Insua made 44 appearances for Liverpool in total, the bulk of them coming last season. He scored his only goal for Liverpool in the League Cup against Arsenal last year.

Having been a regular at youth levels, Insua has two senior Argentina caps, both coming in World Cup qualifiers last summer.

He was strongly linked with Fiorentina earlier this summer.

Alexander Hleb: I Rejected Liverpool & Tottenham To Join Birmingham City

New Birmingham City signing Alexander Hleb has sensationally revealed he turned down Premier League rivals Liverpool and Tottenham to sign for the Blues.

The 29-year-old playmaker has joined the Premier League club from Barcelona on a season-long loan deal having spent last season with Bundesliga outfit Stuttgart.

Hleb – formerly of Arsenal, where he made 130 appearances in all competitions – has spoken for the first time since joining Birmingham and said he had rejected the sides of Roy Hodgson and Harry Redknapp this summer.

The Belarus international felt the Blues wanted to sign him more than anyone else and that made up his mind despite the lack of European football on offer with Alex McLeish’s side.

The player says Portuguese champions Benfica had also been chasing him.

"I had a few options - Liverpool, Tottenham and Benfica," Hleb revealed to ITV Sport. "It was necessary to explore each one.

"I wasn't able to come to an agreement with one of them.

"But Birmingham clearly wanted to do the deal more than the others, which is why I made my choice."

McLeish has said the signing of Hleb is like a ‘dream’ for his side, who has also signed defender Martin Jiranek on deadline day.

Lucas Vows To Stay And Fight

Lucas Leiva is determined to fight for his place at Liverpool following the signing of fellow midfielders Christian Poulsen and Raul Meireles.

The Brazil international, who featured regularly under former manager Rafa Benitez, has seen a rise in competition at Anfield since the arrival of new boss Roy Hodgson.

Despite impressing former Fulham manager Hodgson in pre-season, it appears Lucas, the club's young player of the season last year, will be third choice for his preferred central spot this campaign.

Speaking after Sunday's win over West Brom, Hodgson admitted selling the 23-year-old was a possibility if a significant bid was received, but added he was disinclined to lose a player so late in the transfer window.

And, despite being linked with a move to Premier League rivals Stoke, Lucas is prepared to stay on Merseyside and battle for a first-team spot this term.

"What is the situation? I don't know. I'm still playing," said Lucas.

"At the moment, I haven't had any offers. I don't know if the club wants to sell me. I just have to wait.

"I'm going away with the national team (on Thursday) and I can't say any more than that.

"We don't have any games so we will be training for a week in Barcelona.

"If the club wants to sell me, what can I do? I just have to wait and see what will happen.

"I need to be playing and I want to be playing but I believe that I am doing well.

"The manager will choose who plays. I have a contract here and if I don't get anything good for me or for the club, then I will stay."

Tottenham Swoop For Liverpool's Ryan Babel

Tottenham have made a swoop for Ryan Babel after moves for four big-name strikers have fallen through over the last 48 hours, Goal.com UK have revealed.

Spurs have turned to the Liverpool forward after their attempts to capture Luis Fabiano, Klaas-Jan Huntelaar, Emmanuel Adebayor and Guiseppe Rossi all hit dead ends.

The north London club has made an initial enquiry about taking Babel on a season-long loan, but it is understood that Liverpool would only consider letting the Dutch forward go on a permanent transfer.

The Merseysiders are keen to recoup the £11.5 million fee they paid for Babel, 23, when he moved from Ajax three years ago.

White Hart Lane manager Harry Redknapp has become increasingly frustrated in his attempts to capture the big-name striker that he believes is essential to make Tottenham an established Champions League club.

Chairman Daniel Levy has money to spend after Spurs qualified for the Champions League group stages, but Fabiano signed a new two-year Sevilla deal yesterday and Huntelaar is close to clinching a £10.5m move from AC Milan to Schalke.

Levy could not agree a fee with Villarreal for £8m-rated Rossi and enquired about taking Adebayor on a season-long loan yesterday but Manchester City do not want to offload players to rivals.

City confirmed this morning that Adebayor will not be leaving Eastlands during the current transfer window.

Babel has emerged as Spurs’ latest target because they feel he has more to offer than Robbie Keane, who the Londoners want to offload in the final hours of the window when a deal is done.

West Ham, Aston Villa and Sunderland are all potential suitors for the Irishman but the Hammers are viewed as the favourites to land his signature.

Hammers Consider Cole Offer

Sky Sports News understands that West Ham are considering an official offer from Liverpool for striker Carlton Cole.

It was revealed on Monday that the Anfield club had made an enquiry regarding the £10million-rated frontman, with manager Roy Hodgson repeatedly admitting that he wants to sign a forward.

Liverpool are now reported to have progressed in their attempts to capture former Chelsea player Cole and West Ham are giving thought to a fee tabled by their Premier League rivals.

Cole has been linked with the Reds since before Hodgson replaced Rafa Benitez earlier in the summer and the 26-year-old is said to be interested in a move to Merseyside.

Reports also suggest that Liverpool are prepared to offer Ryan Babel, who has been linked with Tottenham, in a part-exchange deal and they will now hope to push through an agreement before Tuesday's transfer deadline at 6pm.

Hodgson has renewed his attempts to sign Cole after he decided to end interest in PSV's Ola Toivonen prior to reaching a dead-end in a pursuit of Bayern Munich's Mario Gomez.

The shortcomings of Liverpool's squad were exposed in an extremely disappointing 2009/10 campaign when injuries to Fernando Torres left the club with only youngster David Ngog as a recognized striker.

Liverpool Complete Signing Of Fulham Left-Back Paul Konchesky

Fulham defender Paul Konchesky has completed his switch to Liverpool for an undisclosed fee on a four-year contract.

Konchesky, 29, has been reunited with manager Roy Hodgson in a deal which sees youngsters Lauri Dalla Valle and Alex Kacaniklic head to Craven Cottage.

The club had been in the market for a new left-back all summer after they attempted to sell Emiliano Insua.

With the Argentine now on his way to Galatasaray, Konchesky will compete with Fabio Aurelio and Daniel Agger for the position.

The Charlton Athletic youth product has racked up 317 Premier League appearances and won two England caps.

Reds Sign Young Duo

Liverpool has today confirmed a double deal for youngsters Suso and Adam Hajdu.

Spanish hot-shot Suso - full name Jesus Joaquin Fernandez Saenz De La Torre - completes his move from FC Cadiz on a scholarship agreement, subject to international clearance.

The 16-year-old forward impressed for the reserves during pre-season and even featured for Roy Hodgson's first-team as a late substitute in the friendly defeat to Borussia Moenchengladbach.

His form prompted second-string boss John McMahon to say: "Suso is a class act, there's no doubt about it. He is a very clever player in the mould of Dani Pacheco and he is very exciting to watch."

Hajdu arrives from MTK Budapest on a temporary transfer until June 30, 2011. The deal is subject to international clearance.

The youngster is a Hungary U17 international and is teammates with the Reds' Academy starlets Patrik Poor and Krisztian Adorjan.

Insua Set For Gala Loan

Emiliano Insua looks set to leave Liverpool after statements on his Twitter page suggested he was moving to Galatasaray.

The Turkish giants are thought to be thrashing out a deal to bring the Argentine left-back to the club on a one-year loan after becoming surplus to requirements at Anfield.

Insua was thought to be joining Italian side Fiorentina this summer but despite the deal all but being done, the player's wage demands saw the transfer fell through.

The 21-year-old is unlikely to be a part of Roy Hodgson's plans following the imminent arrival of Fulham defender Paul Konchesky and the re-signing of Fabio Aurelio.

Insua is thought to be in Istanbul finalizing the details of the deal and undergoing a medical.

The player's page read: "Road to Istanbul, in search of continuity, I hope everything works out well!

"I am waiting for news about my future. Eager to play and keep dreaming big!"

Damien Plessis Arrives In Greece To Complete Panathinaikos Move

Damien Plessis has arrived in Greece to finalize his move to Panathinaikos.

The defensive midfielder was signed by Liverpool from French side Olympique Lyonnais in 2007 during Rafa Benitez’s reign.

The 22-year-old has only appeared eight times during his spell at Anfield and appears to be excluded from manager Roy Hodgson’s plans this season.

According to the News of the World, Plessis is set to complete his move to the Greek club today.

The Frenchman has not been handed a squad number this term and his previous No.28 was given to new arrival Christian Poulsen.

Barcelona Complete Javier Mascherano Signing From Liverpool On Four-Year Contract

Barcelona have confirmed on their official website that they have completed the signing of midfielder Javier Mascherano from Liverpool on a four-year deal but have not mentioned the transfer fee paid to the Premier League side.

The Argentine international successfully underwent his medical at the Camp Nou medical centre late Monday morning to seal his move from Anfield. Reports suggest that the amount paid to Liverpool is €21 million with an additional €2-3m in bonuses.

Barcelona though, has revealed that Mascherano's contract has a buy-out clause of €90 million.

Mascherano will join David Villa and Adriano as Barcelona's new signings for the 2010-11 campaign, bringing the Blaugrana's total spending in the summer transfer market to approximately €70.5 million.

Liverpool Switch Attention To £12m Spanish International Forward

Liverpool boss Roy Hodgson is keen on Atletico Bilbao forward Fernando Llorente and is ready to make a big money offer to bring the Spanish international to Anfield. The giant 6ft 5in striker has been a consistent attacking force for the past three La Liga seasons and is now part of Vicente Del Bosque’s all conquering World Cup winning side and could well be ready for a new challenge.

Llorente has been at the Basque club since the age of 11 and has proven a solid performer in recent seasons netting 53 times in the past three years but has seen Bilbao fail to make a move towards the European spots in the La Liga table.

Hodgson may feel that Llorente could complement Fernando Torres in a front pairing and now that the club has sold Javier Mascherano they should have funds to make an offer for the 25 year old. Having already offloaded Yossi Benayoun and Albert Riera the Liverpool boss would hope to have money to further reinvest in his squad after bringing in Raul Meireles from Porto.

The fact that the Merseyside outfit has two prominent members of Spanish international side may well act as further temptation for the Pamplona born forward.

Liverpool Set Sights On £4.5m Monaco Playmaker Eidur Gudjohnsen

Liverpool boss Roy Hodgson has set his sights on snapping up out of favour Monaco midfielder Eidur Gudjohnsen. The Icelandic international is set to be offloaded by the Ligue 1 club who appears surplus to requirements at the Stade Louis II and the Anfield boss is looking to bring in the vastly experienced campaigner to give him added strength in depth.

Having completed a successful loan spell at White Hart Lane last term many believed the former Barcelona and Chelsea man would complete a permanent move to north London but a deal fell through leaving the 31 year old to wonder what his next move would be.

The adaptable performer, who was very successful as an out and out forward in his Stamford Bridge days, can now play across the midfield and behind the strikers in a number of positions and could be a very useful addition to Hodgson’s squad as they look for success on a number of fronts.

A move for Gudjohnsen would cost around £4.5m and the Monaco man would surely jump at the chance of a return to the English top tier where he has netted 106 goals in 349 appearances and is of course a double Premier League winner during his time at Chelsea.

Roy Hodgson Expecting To Complete Signing Of Paul Konchesky From Fulham By Tuesday

Paul Konchesky looks to be heading from Fulham to Liverpool with Reds boss Roy Hodgson confident the left-back will be arriving before the transfer window closes on Tuesday.

Asked if he expected the deal, which sees Liverpool youth player Lauri Dalla Valle go the other way, completed before Tuesday, Hodgson told reporters: "I hope so.

"One of our young players, a very talented young lad that Fulham have fancied for a long time, is going in the other direction and that's holding it up a little because he has to have a medical.

"I'm sincerely hoping it's just a technical hitch and that Paul will sign in the next couple of days."

"I didn't have a strong opinion on him [Dalla Valle] one way or another but Malcolm Elias [from Fulham's academy] did. The lad's got the quality to go into a first-team contingent."

Mario Gomez Wishes To Leave Bayern Munich For Liverpool

Germany international Mario Gomez has expressed his desire to leave Bayern Munich, if reports from Kicker are to be believed. In recent days, rumours of a potential move to Liverpool have gained momentum, reaching their apex today.

"When a club like Liverpool inquires, their interest cannot be pushed off the table," his advisor, Uli Ferber allegedly told Kicker.

Gomez is out of favour in Bavaria, and would "just like to play football again", according to Ferber. Liverpool allegedly would like to sign Gomez on a year-long loan spell, and are willing to pay the player's salary.

Gomez, 25, moved to Bavaria last summer for a record fee estimated to be between €30-35m He struggled in his first year in Munich, scoring just 10 goals in 31 appearances.