So, what of Aquilani?

[Craig_H]

http://www.skysports.com/story/0,195...323332,00.html

Aquilani says no to Napoli

Alberto Aquilani's agent has attempted to put an end to rumours the Liverpool midfielder could move back to Italy this summer by describing his latest potential switch as "unfounded".

The 26-year-old has been constantly linked with a return to his homeland during the transfer window after a difficult first season in the Premier League.

The former Roma playmaker has been touted with a return to the Serie A club, as well as the likes of Juventus and now Napoli.

But Aquilani's agent, Franco Zavaglia has put to bed speculation over the Italian's future by insisting he is staying with the Reds.

Dreams
"Alberto to Napoli? These are absolutely unfounded voices," Zavaglia told CalcioNapoli24.it.

"There are plenty of dreams. Dreaming costs nothing, but it is not a viable hypothesis.

"Aquilani is a Liverpool player and will remain in England.

"He's respected by new coach Roy Hodgson, and this will be his year of consecration in the Premier League.

"I also deny the unconfirmed reports that he will return to Roma."

Aquilani made 23 appearances for Liverpool in an injury-stricken campaign last season but still managed to score two goals and provide four assists.

The Azzurri international has played in Liverpool's two Europa League games so far this season and could face Trabzonspor on Thursday night.

Interesting comments from his agent. The bit about being 'respected' by Hodgson is also a bit of an eyebrow raiser, as it's obvious Roy's trying to ship him out.

I do feel it'd be a little unfair on AA, as this was the season where he was meant to have a full preseason and a fair crack of the whip to show us what he can do - except, he's obviously injured/ill as per usual

I wouldnt be fussed either way. If he goes, i doubt we'd really miss him much but as we're unlikely to get a replacement, he'd add depth if he stays.

[PTP]

I'm sure some one can dig up the actually deal particulars

was it something like £5m up front, then another £5m at the end of last season, with the further £10m to spread out over this season?? not sure exactly though?

[Craig_H]

Think we lost 3-4M on Keane for 6months work
Aquilani how much has he cost us if he never plays for us again? say 7M
That's 10M not 40M for a season and half of player time or a Kuyt week.

Keane is an odd one on the fact he returned from where he came to go out on loan

Aquilani has already cost us about €15m, if the much posted deal breakdown is true.

[PTP]

I hope so. Huge transfer mistakes by Rafa. All managers make them but the problem for us was they were clustered together.

The keane one - hmm although gutted with how it turned out, i could see why we might have signed him and really thought it could have been a good signing for us......rafa though had a bee in his bonnet over the barry saga, and unfortunatley keane signed at time when gerrard and torres were fit and on form and he just couldn't get a look in..........which worked perfectly for the media to stick another knife in benitez because to them he'd signed a £20m flop.........funnily i think had keane been here when we struggled at times last season with no torres or gerrard, then he may have well done a great job? - I also think the fee didn't help - we did over pay, and liverpool aren't city, chelsea or united, so we can't afford to have an expensive player on the bench - we sign a player for £5m and he's expected to be a first team regular. Had the fee been more realistic, say £10m to £15m max, for keane, that might have took some of the edge of it

Aquilani though i will not excuse.......i slated the signing at the time, i took some stick for it, nothign to do with the quality of the player, more the fact that we all knew he was injured, we all knew that an injured player misisng pre-season, coming into england would not be ready at best till xmas, so i felt in a vital season, we'd lost one class centre mid and at least for the first half the season replaced him with nothing.

[red g]

was it something like £5m up front, then another £5m at the end of last season, with the further £10m to spread out over this season?? not sure exactly though?

cant remember mate.....definitely read it somewhere though.

[red g]

Interesting comments from his agent. The bit about being 'respected' by Hodgson is also a bit of an eyebrow raiser, as it's obvious Roy's trying to ship him out.

I do feel it'd be a little unfair on AA, as this was the season where he was meant to have a full preseason and a fair crack of the whip to show us what he can do - except, he's obviously injured/ill as per usual

I wouldnt be fussed either way. If he goes, i doubt we'd really miss him much but as we're unlikely to get a replacement, he'd add depth if he stays.

the last time aquiliani did that he was out for 3 games!!!

[Shaggy]

[Zapater]

I'm going to stick my neck out and defend Aquilani. Yes, you can bring his fitness record into it, even perhaps make conspiracy theories legitimately or not about his availability but the thing is, he hasn't really had a fair go to prove himself. There's been no consistency in his games or game time, and last season when he did have a few games he wasn't too bad, although it just seemed to be like the entire team didn't really give a ****.

People complain about us not having enough creativity in the centre of the pitch, and regardless of arguments about him being soft, not hard in the tackle, etc. He is one of the few players that we can say that we have whom are genuinely creative. There were a few games last season when he came on and he helped us play better automatically just because he was on the pitch. He encourages a short passing game, and plays a lot of one-two's which open up attacking opportunities and change the pace of the game. I'm positive if he was match fit and given a run of games he'd be able to prove his worth.

I've seen him a good few times at Roma, and for us, even though he hasn't shown his true worth there have been a few glimpses. From the minute that he signed for us I thought he could be a Paul Scholes sort of a player for us. Someone who plays in the midfield and always gives a passing option, then will seldom waste possession. He is a player that plays between the lines and has shown that he isn't an easy player to pick up, as well as the fact he plays good first time passes and has a good passing range. He has all of the skills to be a good player for us, and it's upto the manager to show the confidence in him to get it out of him.

Yes, you can say that he has been below par, but for the majority of last season he was injured, or/and recovering. Now he's been fit in pre season, he hasn't been good, but that counts for nothing for me, what happens in competitive fixtures is the only thing that matters and Roy is denying him his shot.

Truth of the matter is, if Aquilani leaves now we've basically replaced him with Poulsen. So we have an intelligent player with very good technique and replaced him with a ball winning workhorse. Seeing that Gerrard is going to play primarily as a central midfielder, therefore Aquilani should be seen as competition with Lucas for that spot, as well as backup for Joe Cole in the attacking midfield. Letting him go on a loan just limits out options and depth considerably. As it stands, I'd say that him and Gerrard are our only creative players in the centre of midfield, when Gerrard is injured/suspended/resting we'll see more of the Lucas - Mascherano combination which was criticised so much last season. And that's if we're lucky and Mascherano doesn't leave or else we'll be stuck with Poulsen and Lucas (no disrespect as I have no problem with either player) who combined have as much creativity as my big toe.

I can see why we'd let Aquilani go, but on a loan it doesn't serve much of a purpose. Either he performs well, comes back when we're interested in keeping him and he complains until he ****s off on another loan or is sold. Or he goes on loan performs poorly (or doesn't play) and he comes back with someone we don't want and a no other club willing to spend a reasonable fee on. We might as well keep him if those are the options, and I'm pretty disappointed Roy has arrived at this conclusion because I always saw him as someone who would be able to appreciate the qualities of a player like Aquilani and find a way to use him effectively. The guy himself hasn't said one negative thing and has always committed himself to the club. All I say is give him atleast a half a season to prove that, if he shows that he's clearly not upto it flog him, that's fine but as it stands his market value is down, a loan doens't make sense and we're making a huge mistake. And if we were to loan him out, I'd prefer to send him to another Premiership club or to Spain or something rather than letting him get too comfortable in his native Italy in case he plays a lot and regains fitness and form. I'd hate the thought of having a player that fulfills himself on our books and he has reluctance to play for our club any longer. By the same token, on the loan front I hate the thought of paying half of his astronomical wages whilst he plays for another team.

Like Mascherano (but to a much lesser degree) - Unless there's a really interesting replacement (Not Scott ****ing Parker) lined up, I'll be disappointed if he left.

[Daniel 7]

I think this is part of it

Did ever ever find any details about how the Aquilani deal was broke down?

Haha, I got stung on that one. Noob.

[Pablo]

Haha, I got stung on that one. Noob.

That was the joke.

Noob?

[-V-]

I'm going to stick my neck out and defend Aquilani. Yes, you can bring his fitness record into it, even perhaps make conspiracy theories legitimately or not about his availability but the thing is, he hasn't really had a fair go to prove himself. There's been no consistency in his games or game time, and last season when he did have a few games he wasn't too bad, although it just seemed to be like the entire team didn't really give a ****.

People complain about us not having enough creativity in the centre of the pitch, and regardless of arguments about him being soft, not hard in the tackle, etc. He is one of the few players that we can say that we have whom are genuinely creative. There were a few games last season when he came on and he helped us play better automatically just because he was on the pitch. He encourages a short passing game, and plays a lot of one-two's which open up attacking opportunities and change the pace of the game. I'm positive if he was match fit and given a run of games he'd be able to prove his worth.

I've seen him a good few times at Roma, and for us, even though he hasn't shown his true worth there have been a few glimpses. From the minute that he signed for us I thought he could be a Paul Scholes sort of a player for us. Someone who plays in the midfield and always gives a passing option, then will seldom waste possession. He is a player that plays between the lines and has shown that he isn't an easy player to pick up, as well as the fact he plays good first time passes and has a good passing range. He has all of the skills to be a good player for us, and it's upto the manager to show the confidence in him to get it out of him.

Yes, you can say that he has been below par, but for the majority of last season he was injured, or/and recovering. Now he's been fit in pre season, he hasn't been good, but that counts for nothing for me, what happens in competitive fixtures is the only thing that matters and Roy is denying him his shot.

Truth of the matter is, if Aquilani leaves now we've basically replaced him with Poulsen. So we have an intelligent player with very good technique and replaced him with a ball winning workhorse. Seeing that Gerrard is going to play primarily as a central midfielder, therefore Aquilani should be seen as competition with Lucas for that spot, as well as backup for Joe Cole in the attacking midfield. Letting him go on a loan just limits out options and depth considerably. As it stands, I'd say that him and Gerrard are our only creative players in the centre of midfield, when Gerrard is injured/suspended/resting we'll see more of the Lucas - Mascherano combination which was criticised so much last season. And that's if we're lucky and Mascherano doesn't leave or else we'll be stuck with Poulsen and Lucas (no disrespect as I have no problem with either player) who combined have as much creativity as my big toe.

I can see why we'd let Aquilani go, but on a loan it doesn't serve much of a purpose. Either he performs well, comes back when we're interested in keeping him and he complains until he ****s off on another loan or is sold. Or he goes on loan performs poorly (or doesn't play) and he comes back with someone we don't want and a no other club willing to spend a reasonable fee on. We might as well keep him if those are the options, and I'm pretty disappointed Roy has arrived at this conclusion because I always saw him as someone who would be able to appreciate the qualities of a player like Aquilani and find a way to use him effectively. The guy himself hasn't said one negative thing and has always committed himself to the club. All I say is give him atleast a half a season to prove that, if he shows that he's clearly not upto it flog him, that's fine but as it stands his market value is down, a loan doens't make sense and we're making a huge mistake. And if we were to loan him out, I'd prefer to send him to another Premiership club or to Spain or something rather than letting him get too comfortable in his native Italy in case he plays a lot and regains fitness and form. I'd hate the thought of having a player that fulfills himself on our books and he has reluctance to play for our club any longer. By the same token, on the loan front I hate the thought of paying half of his astronomical wages whilst he plays for another team.

Like Mascherano (but to a much lesser degree) - Unless there's a really interesting replacement (Not Scott ****ing Parker) lined up, I'll be disappointed if he left.

But the problem doesn't lie with whether he is technically good enough! Anyone who has seen him play enough can see that he has ability/talent. The problem is that whenever we need him he's always injured or ill. Maybe the people at the club who see him in training everyday have came to the conclusion that he's a total pussy or just a crock. If he was a fit healthy person then I think he would be in our first team but that isn't the case

[Zapater]

But the problem doesn't lie with whether he is technically good enough! Anyone who has seen him play enough can see that he has ability/talent. The problem is that whenever we need him he's always injured or ill. Maybe the people at the club who see him in training everyday have came to the conclusion that he's a total pussy or just a crock. If he was a fit healthy person then I think he would be in our first team but that isn't the case

I understand and mentioned that, but seeing that we don't really have any other luxury players and that we spent silly money on him I'm just saying I would like us to give him the benefit of the doubt and give him a season to prove otherwise. There have been many a player better than Aquilani to come into a season halfway through due to injury and be underwhelming.

I know that there are other more ambitious teams/managers would take a risk on him, I know it's potentially high risk high reward if we're saying he's an undisputed started but as a rotational player I don't think it's particularly a huge gamble, especially since he seems keen to try and settle. He doesn't strike me as a disruptive character and it's definitely a sight better than a loan deal. If we get a semi decent offer and sold him I can understand but a loan is a joke.

[DannyMan2006]

Not happy about this tbh.

As has already been said he is an ideal replacement for Cole and also Gerrard so that we keep the creativity in the team to a reasonable level.

I'd only be reasonably pleased if we signed someone like Van Der Vaart on loan.

But really we should be looking at the here and now and either selling or keeping. I know we'd lose millions on him, but there is no need to save face, we need the funds to compete for good players now, not in 12 months time. In 12 months time we will likely have new owners and new sources of income.

[dom9]

I'm going to stick my neck out and defend Aquilani. Yes, you can bring his fitness record into it, even perhaps make conspiracy theories legitimately or not about his availability but the thing is, he hasn't really had a fair go to prove himself. There's been no consistency in his games or game time, and last season when he did have a few games he wasn't too bad, although it just seemed to be like the entire team didn't really give a ****.

People complain about us not having enough creativity in the centre of the pitch, and regardless of arguments about him being soft, not hard in the tackle, etc. He is one of the few players that we can say that we have whom are genuinely creative. There were a few games last season when he came on and he helped us play better automatically just because he was on the pitch. He encourages a short passing game, and plays a lot of one-two's which open up attacking opportunities and change the pace of the game. I'm positive if he was match fit and given a run of games he'd be able to prove his worth.

I've seen him a good few times at Roma, and for us, even though he hasn't shown his true worth there have been a few glimpses. From the minute that he signed for us I thought he could be a Paul Scholes sort of a player for us. Someone who plays in the midfield and always gives a passing option, then will seldom waste possession. He is a player that plays between the lines and has shown that he isn't an easy player to pick up, as well as the fact he plays good first time passes and has a good passing range. He has all of the skills to be a good player for us, and it's upto the manager to show the confidence in him to get it out of him.

Yes, you can say that he has been below par, but for the majority of last season he was injured, or/and recovering. Now he's been fit in pre season, he hasn't been good, but that counts for nothing for me, what happens in competitive fixtures is the only thing that matters and Roy is denying him his shot.

Truth of the matter is, if Aquilani leaves now we've basically replaced him with Poulsen. So we have an intelligent player with very good technique and replaced him with a ball winning workhorse. Seeing that Gerrard is going to play primarily as a central midfielder, therefore Aquilani should be seen as competition with Lucas for that spot, as well as backup for Joe Cole in the attacking midfield. Letting him go on a loan just limits out options and depth considerably. As it stands, I'd say that him and Gerrard are our only creative players in the centre of midfield, when Gerrard is injured/suspended/resting we'll see more of the Lucas - Mascherano combination which was criticised so much last season. And that's if we're lucky and Mascherano doesn't leave or else we'll be stuck with Poulsen and Lucas (no disrespect as I have no problem with either player) who combined have as much creativity as my big toe.

I can see why we'd let Aquilani go, but on a loan it doesn't serve much of a purpose. Either he performs well, comes back when we're interested in keeping him and he complains until he ****s off on another loan or is sold. Or he goes on loan performs poorly (or doesn't play) and he comes back with someone we don't want and a no other club willing to spend a reasonable fee on. We might as well keep him if those are the options, and I'm pretty disappointed Roy has arrived at this conclusion because I always saw him as someone who would be able to appreciate the qualities of a player like Aquilani and find a way to use him effectively. The guy himself hasn't said one negative thing and has always committed himself to the club. All I say is give him atleast a half a season to prove that, if he shows that he's clearly not upto it flog him, that's fine but as it stands his market value is down, a loan doens't make sense and we're making a huge mistake. And if we were to loan him out, I'd prefer to send him to another Premiership club or to Spain or something rather than letting him get too comfortable in his native Italy in case he plays a lot and regains fitness and form. I'd hate the thought of having a player that fulfills himself on our books and he has reluctance to play for our club any longer. By the same token, on the loan front I hate the thought of paying half of his astronomical wages whilst he plays for another team.

Like Mascherano (but to a much lesser degree) - Unless there's a really interesting replacement (Not Scott ****ing Parker) lined up, I'll be disappointed if he left.

We would have replaced with Cole surely?

[Maxiedge]

Rafa previously alluded to Aquilani's mental wellbeing. I think it may all be psycholigical, sadly