Gareth Barry is facing up to the prospect of another weekend in limbo as Liverpool and Aston Villa continue to haggle over the finer points of his proposed move to Anfield.
Despite a busy day of transfer activity at both clubs yesterday, Barry remained in the West Midlands after Villa wrote to Liverpool outlining their demands to agree to the sale of the England international. Having already rejected bids of up to £15 million for Barry, the letter is understood to ask for £17 million, to be paid in full in the next 12 months, plus defender Steve Finnan.
Yet negotiations remain deadlocked as Liverpool rate Finnan at £2 million while Villa, who were last night in talks with Chelsea's £5 million-rated Steve Sidwell, a likely replacement for Barry, believe the full-back is only worth half of that figure as he enters the final year of his contract.
Rafael Benitez remains optimistic his main summer target - fined and banned from Villa's training ground for criticising manager Martin O'Neill - will sign but the delay in his arrival is a cause of frustration for the Liverpool manager as he prepares for his squad's departure for their Swiss training camp on Sunday.
With Peter Crouch due to complete an £11 million move to Portsmouth in the next 24 hours, Liverpool's money men could easily bow to all of Villa's demands but they insist that the second city club must meet their valuation of Finnan.
While Barry's arrival remains on ice, Liverpool will today officially unveil defenders Andrea Dossena, an £8 million acquisition from Udinese, and Swiss international Philipp Degen, signed on a free from Borussia Dortmund. Brazilian goalkeeper Diego Cavalieri has undergone a medical and should complete his move from Palmeiras within days while Benitez has spoken of his admiration for Valencia's David Villa, who scored four times during Spain's triumphant Euro 2008 campaign.
"He is on our list but maybe it will be difficult, said Benitez, who fears he may be without Ryan Babel for the start of the season. Fit after missing Euro 2008 with an ankle injury, Babel could be selected by Holland for the Olympics.
Despite a busy day of transfer activity at both clubs yesterday, Barry remained in the West Midlands after Villa wrote to Liverpool outlining their demands to agree to the sale of the England international. Having already rejected bids of up to £15 million for Barry, the letter is understood to ask for £17 million, to be paid in full in the next 12 months, plus defender Steve Finnan.
Yet negotiations remain deadlocked as Liverpool rate Finnan at £2 million while Villa, who were last night in talks with Chelsea's £5 million-rated Steve Sidwell, a likely replacement for Barry, believe the full-back is only worth half of that figure as he enters the final year of his contract.
Rafael Benitez remains optimistic his main summer target - fined and banned from Villa's training ground for criticising manager Martin O'Neill - will sign but the delay in his arrival is a cause of frustration for the Liverpool manager as he prepares for his squad's departure for their Swiss training camp on Sunday.
With Peter Crouch due to complete an £11 million move to Portsmouth in the next 24 hours, Liverpool's money men could easily bow to all of Villa's demands but they insist that the second city club must meet their valuation of Finnan.
While Barry's arrival remains on ice, Liverpool will today officially unveil defenders Andrea Dossena, an £8 million acquisition from Udinese, and Swiss international Philipp Degen, signed on a free from Borussia Dortmund. Brazilian goalkeeper Diego Cavalieri has undergone a medical and should complete his move from Palmeiras within days while Benitez has spoken of his admiration for Valencia's David Villa, who scored four times during Spain's triumphant Euro 2008 campaign.
"He is on our list but maybe it will be difficult, said Benitez, who fears he may be without Ryan Babel for the start of the season. Fit after missing Euro 2008 with an ankle injury, Babel could be selected by Holland for the Olympics.
No comments:
Post a Comment