Bellamy playing for his future on Merseyside
Oliver Kay
Craig Bellamy could have a crucial role to play for Liverpool at Stamford Bridge this evening, but the Wales forward’s future at Anfield is uncertain, with Mark Hughes preparing a bid to take him back to Blackburn Rovers at the end of the season.
Bellamy left Blackburn in a £6 million move last summer, but Hughes is keen to tempt the 27-year-old back to Ewood Park.
Blackburn will face competition from Aston Villa, among others, but they may also have a trump card — albeit one they would play reluctantly — in Morten Gamst Pedersen, their Norway winger, whom Rafael BenÍtez, the Liverpool manager, has been monitoring for 12 months. Pedersen, however, is valued at about £10 million by Blackburn.
BenÍtez continues to rate Bellamy highly and may look to the forward’s pace to unsettle the Chelsea defence this evening, but the Liverpool manager has secured a deal to sign Andriy Voronin, the Bayer Leverkusen forward, next season and at least one other top-class addition is expected, with David Villa, of Valencia, and Fernando Torres, of Atlético Madrid, among those under consideration.
The link with Torres appeared to strengthen yesterday when he was pictured wearing a captain’s armband emblazoned with Liverpool’s anthem, You’ll Never Walk Alone, while playing for Atlético.
Bellamy has endured a largely frustrating time at Anfield, with his performances on the pitch overshadowed by injuries and off-the-field problems, most notably his infamous altercation with John Arne Riise during a Liverpool team bonding session on the Algarve in February. He followed that incident by scoring in a 2-1 victory away to Barcelona in February, but with only nine goals in 38 appearances in all competitions for Liverpool, he could do with a similar performance tonight.
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