Liverpool To Make Bid For Brest Striker Nolan Roux

Liverpool is the latest side to be credited with an interest in Brest striker Nolan Roux, according to France Football, and could move for the Frenchman this week.

The 23-year-old has attracted a plethora of suitors following a stellar Ligue 1 campaign in which he scored six goals in 28 appearances for the strugglers.

Liverpool director of football Damien Comolli is believed to be keen on Roux, with the report stating that a deal could materialize by the end of the week.

The striker has a contract with Brest that runs until 2013 and the French outfit will likely demand a fee of around £7.1 million.

Schalke and Bordeaux are also interested in the services of the Frenchman.

Gael Clichy Wants Move To Liverpool

Arsenal star Gael Clichy is favouring a move to Liverpool, despite interest from Serie A side Roma, according to The Times.

Liverpool has reportedly made an offer of £5 million for Clichy, but Arsenal is hoping for closer to £10 million for the star whose contract expires with the Gunners next summer.

While Roma are ready to offer £7 million – and will sell Mirko Vucinic to fund the deal for Clichy – the Frenchman isn’t convinced that a move to Italy will be best for his career.

Arsene Wenger is reportedly hopeful that Clichy won’t go to Liverpool because they might rival Arsenal for trophies, but with the 25-year-old wanting to stay in England, Wenger may have to accept that the star will head to another club of Arsenal’s caliber.

While Clichy has continually told the press that he wants to stay with Arsenal, and that Liverpool rumours are without merit, his delaying in signing a contract for the Gunners is giving way to speculation that he may in fact be interested in heading to Merseyside.

Roma have flown to London today, according to reports, but Clichy is still hopeful that Liverpool will up their offer to Arsenal in order to take on the left-back and fill a gap that has been a long term problem at Anfield.

Liverpool And Arsenal Target Moussa Sissoko

French midfielder Moussa Sissoko is being targeted by Arsenal, Liverpool and Manchester City for a move this summer.

The Toulouse star has been on the radar of British clubs for the past four years and turned down Liverpool and Bolton to sign with his French club as a teenager.

But now the 21-year-old is being lined up for a move to the Premier League, despite being under contract until June 2013

According to Lamine Drame, a source near the player, Manchester City, Liverpool and Arsenal are honing in on the French international.

Last season, Sissoko played 36 matches and scored five goals and has previously been valued at £18million.

Liverpool To Make £8m Tottenham Playmaker Move

Liverpool will attempt to lure Tottenham playmaker Niko Kranjcar as the Merseyside club looks to turn their attention away from Blackpool star Charlie Adam to the Croatian international.

Anfield director of football Damien Comolli has earmarked a move for the 26 year old who looks set to leave White Hart Lane after failing to convince boss Harry Redknapp that he is worthy of a regular starting spot.

26 year old Kranjcar arrived at the North London club in the summer of 2009 after he followed Redknapp from Portsmouth to Tottenham. However the cultured midfielder barely had a look in last season and only managed two Premier League starts and saw his first team chances further limited following the arrival in January of Everton’s South African international Steven Pienaar.

Kranjcar is determined not to be stuck on the Tottenham bench and would surely be tempted by a move to Liverpool. Comolli, who used to work as director of football at White Hart Lane, has recommended Dalglish pushes to purchase the former Hajduk Split.

Liverpool have seen their pursuit of Scottish international Charlie Adam go stale and have seen a number of other sides, including Tottenham and Man United, take an interest in the Tangerines midfielder and appear to now prefer a move for the £8m rated Kranjcar.

Liverpool’s new owners are willing to finance further moves for new additions having signed Luis Suarez and Andy Carroll in January and brought in Jordan Henderson from Sunderland earlier this month.

Kranjcar is also being chased by sides on the continent with the likes of Roma, Valencia and Paris Saint-Germain all taking an interest in the Zagreb born flair player but the Tottenham man is thought to be keen to stay in England having spent the last five years in the country where he, his wife and child have all settled.

Ex-Celtic Stopper Linked With Liverpool Switch

Liverpool are being linked with a move for ex-Celtic goalkeeper Artur Boruc, reports the Daily Mail.

The Polish goalkeeper, currently applying his trade with Fiorentina, earned 79 clean sheets in over 200 matches for the old firm side during a five year spell at Celtic Park.

Boruc left Celtic for Italy to become an understudy to Sebastien Frey and had to wait until November for his first start for the club.

The 31-year-old won three SPL titles while at Celtic, including two Scottish League Cups and one Scottish Cup.

Celtic has since replaced Boruc in the first-team with Lukasz Zaluska.

With Liverpool having lost out on signing Brad Friedel, Kenny Dalglish is still looking for a backup for Pepe Reina.

The likes of Alexander Doni and Hugo Lloris have both been linked with moves to Liverpool this summer.

Dalglish is expected to be provided with a large transfer kitty this summer, and has wasted little time splashing out on Jordan Henderson to help bolster Liverpool's midfield.

Liverpool Weigh Up Bid For Dimitri Payet

Liverpool is weighing up a bid for Saint-Etienne star Dimitri Payet, but will not pay the French club's £11 million asking price.

Damien Comolli, the Reds' director of football, is a huge admirer of the winger having worked with him at Saint-Etienne before leaving for Liverpool last November.

Payet, 24, is the subject of interest from Qatari-owned Paris Saint-Germain as well as French champions Lille, who are looking to replace Arsenal-bound Gervinho.

The France international is aware of interest from Liverpool and Goal.com understands he has been told that the Reds could be ready to enter the bidding as manager Kenny Dalglish looks to add some wide men to his squad.

Dalglish wants at least two wingers and is hoping to clinch the signing of £15m-rated Aston Villa star Stewart Downing.

But he is targeting at least one more wide player in the summer transfer window, having already missed out on Ashley Young and seen a move for Sylvain Marveaux fall through, amidst suggestions he failed a medical.

Comolli would be willing to pay around £6m for Payet, who scored 13 goals in 33 appearances last season and has been capped three times for the France national team.

Payet, who is under contract until 2013, is believed to favour a move to Anfield but Saint-Etienne will have to lower their expectations over the transfer value.

The French club's president, Roland Romeyer, revealed earlier this month that he had been in touch with English sides but insisted he would not let his star player leave on the cheap.

“There have also been calls from England,” said Romeyer. “But there is no question of letting Dimitri leave at any price.”

Another problem for Liverpool is the bad blood felt by Saint-Etienne after former Tottenham director Comolli criticized the working environment at the Stade Geoffroy-Guichard.

Romeyer has said he felt “betrayed” by Comolli after he quit the club and accused him of squandering money on signings.

PSG's interest in Payet is becoming increasingly apparent, with reports suggesting the capital club have offered €8m (£7m) plus Jeremy Clement for the playmaker.

Aly Cissokho Emerges As Summer Anfield Target

Liverpool is once again being linked with a move for French international defender Aly Cissokho.

The Lyon left back, who made his only Les Bleus appearance against Norway in 2010, was linked with an Anfield switch in January following the arrival of Kenny Dalglish on Merseyside.

TalkSPORT now claims that the Reds are again considering a move for the 23-year-old, with the report going on to state that Liverpool would have to pay in the region of £9 million for the player.

Cissokho is seen as the ideal replacement for Paul Konchesky at Liverpool, who quickly fell out-of-favour at the club following the departure of former manager Roy Hodgson in January.

The left back spent the later stages of the season on loan at Nottingham Forest in the Npower Championship, and has been linked with a move to Wolves and Portsmouth as recently as this week.

Whilst young England international Jack Robinson rose to the challenge when stepping up to the Liverpool senior side at the end of last season, Dalglish is searching for a proven player in the position to help shore up the club's defence next season.

With a winger and striker also on the agenda at Liverpool, it promises to be a busy few months for the Scot after securing the services of Jordan Henderson for a reported £20 million a fortnight ago.

However, Dalglish will face competition for the signature, with Manchester City manager Roberto Mancini also interested in bringing the player to England after losing Jerome Boateng to Bayern Munich.

Nikola Saric To Join Hajduk Split After Being Released

Nikoa Saric is joining Hajduk Split on a free transfer after being released by Liverpool FC.

The Bosnian-born 20-year-old failed to break into the first team during three years at Anfield.

The striker was highly rated when the Reds beat off competition from Barcelona to sign him in 2008 but he failed to realize his potential. Saric wasn’t offered a new deal and is now heading for Croatia.

“Everything is going according to plan and there are no more obstacles for Nikola to move to Hajduk,” said his father Predrag Saric.

“In the next few days he will sign for the next three years.

“He is ready to move on after three years of pure hell at Anfield.”

Academy Glory For Young Reds

 

It was a dramatic Liverpool victory that sparked ecstatic celebrations at the Academy.

This young side may not have bragged the likes of Raheem Sterling and Conor Coady but the quality and spirit they showed in pulling off a late comeback against a dominant Manchester City was a credit to every boy in red.

The 3-2 win for a Liverpool team made up of under-16s from Stockbridge Village, put them top of the regional group of the annual Kickz Cup and forward to the national finals.

An under-14s side also represented Liverpool in Sunday's tournament, but despite a strong start, they finished third behind Everton and Manchester City.

The Kickz for Kids scheme, which began in 2006, involves Premier League clubs taking teenagers from disadvantaged areas, giving them free coaching and organizing them into teams of different age groups who then compete for a national cup.

On Sunday the Academy hosted the North West qualifiers, with teams from both Merseyside and Manchester clubs joined by Bolton, Blackburn and Wigan.

Liverpool under-16s' table-topping effort was no mean feat as they triumphed over a City side which made a rampant start, scoring 16 and conceding just twice in their opening four fixtures, thrashing rivals Man United 6-0 in the process.

But the gutsy Liverpool boys twice stopped them in their tracks, beating them 4-3, then 3-2 in that dramatic final game. Prior to that Liverpool lost to Wigan and drew with Everton which meant that they had to beat City to top the group.

The Reds took an early lead as Josh Cotton flicked into the path of Robbie McClintock who slotted calmly for 1-0. City twice hit back to turn the game on its head but late drama ensued as substitute Kyle Bretherton fired Liverpool level before Cotton connected with an Aaron Fitzsimmons cross to make it 3-2.

Meanwhile, Liverpool's under-14's made a flying start, notching up three victories over Bolton, Wigan and Man United before coming from a goal behind to win 2-1 against a strong Everton side.

However, the team every under-14s side had to beat was Manchester City, who hammered Everton 4-0 before beating Liverpool 2-1. The Eastlands outfit was superb all day, winning ten and drawing two, to take the group with ease.

Liverpool's junior side played some decent possession football and passed the ball neatly and incisively. Lewis Riley sprayed passes about the pitch; Jesse Dowling was lethal in front of goal and Georgie Roberts, their diminutive playmaker, pulled defences apart with his slaloming forward runs. But it was all to no avail as the under-14s finished third in the group, 12 points behind City.

Forbes Duff, Liverpool FC's Kickz co-ordinator, is hugely impressed with the national scheme: "It's a fabulous opportunity for the boys to come and play at the Academy, where so many great players have played and use the venue and the facilities," he said after Sunday's tournament.

"Kickz is all about giving the kind of kids who are here today special opportunities like this. I know from personal experience how much they look forward to and enjoy it."

Eddie Sullivan, manager of the under-14s side, who has been working with LFC In The Community for 11 years and as a Kickz coach for three, told Liverpoolfc.tv why the charity is so important.

"As a scheme it's absolutely brilliant in what it offers the kids. It works because it keeps them occupied and active, in a positive way, rather than having them hanging around the streets.

"You can see how successful the scheme is purely by the amount of clubs around the country who have become involved.

"Also it's great to see our two local clubs, Liverpool and Everton, working together along with the government and Merseyside Police, to give something back to the community."

Perhaps, most importantly, the boys themselves spoke of the positive effect it had on their lives.

Kyle Bretherton, midfield lynchpin for the victorious under-16s, summed the general feeling up perfectly: "Kickz is fantastic because it gets you off the streets and keeps you out of trouble. The coaches are the best part of it because they treat you like adults and as friends, not like children."

And as the ecstatic scenes on the Academy touchline following that stunning victory over Manchester City showed, the bond between players and coaches is indeed something special to behold.