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'Football is a simple game based on the giving and taking of passes, of controlling the ball and of making yourself available to receive a pass. It is terribly simple.'
Bill Shankly. -
Liverpool Aims to Convince Suarez to Stay as Arsenal Makes Offer
By Tariq Panja -
Liverpool striker Luis Suarez can expect to retain the support of the team’s fans even though he’s agitating for a move a way from the Premier League soccer club, Managing Director Ian Ayre said.
The 26-year-old Uruguayan has been linked with Real Madrid, Chelsea and Arsenal after he said he’d like to leave the 18-time English champion during interviews at last month’s Confederations Cup. Ayre confirmed that Liverpool rejected an offer from Arsenal for Suarez, who scored 30 goals last season.
“I don’t think anyone will be against him at this point,” Ayre said in a telephone interview. Suarez, who joined from Ajax for 26.5 million euros ($34.6 million) in January 2011, will miss the first six games of the season wherever he plays because of a 10-match ban for biting an opponent. He was banned for eight games a year earlier for racially abusing a rival.
“He only needs to do what he did last season and everyone will feel he’s in the right place and he should carry on getting the support that he deserves and gets from Liverpool,” Ayre said. “We’d love to see Luis put on a Liverpool shirt for this season and beyond and we hope that once he gets back things will settle down.”
Even with Suarez’s goals, Liverpool finished seventh in the league, failing to qualify for European competition. Suarez has said he wants to move to a club playing in the Champions League, a competition Liverpool hasn’t been in since 2009. He also cited critical treatment from the U.K. media as a reason to quit the country before saying most recently he was “flattered” by interest from London-based Arsenal.
Champions League
“This is an ambitious young player, he’s talked in the media about wanting to play in the Champions League and all these things,” Ayre said. “It’s our job to convince Luis that this is the right place to achieve those things.”
Ayre wouldn’t detail the team’s targets for next season, but pointed to this summer’s recruitment drive as proof the Reds, owned since 2010 by the U.S.-based Fenway Sports Group, will try to secure a top-four finish to reach the Champions League. At 9 million pounds goalkeeper Simon Mignolet is the most expensive recruit and he’s been joined by Spanish attackers Iago Aspas and Luis Alberto as well as defender Kolo Toure. Still, the club failed in its most ambitious bid when Shakhtar Donetsk midfielder Henrikh Mkhitaryan chose Champions League finalist Borussia Dortmund.
“We’ve got other people in our sights and we’ll keep plugging away,” Ayre said. “But we’ll do some more business, there’s no doubt about that.”
Popularity
Liverpool leaves today for a tour of Asia, a region where the team, which last won the English championship in 1990, remains popular. A match at the 100,000-capacity Melbourne Cricket Ground in Australia was sold out in hours. That popularity, said Ayre, has helped recruit talent even though the team hasn’t been competing for top honors of late.
“We’ve brought in great players who recognize we’re not in the Champions League but see the size of this club, see the size of the opportunity and what we’re trying to build and want to be part of it,” he said.
Liverpool has revamped its operations in the last 12 months, hiring Dave Fallows as head of recruitment and scouting and Barry Hunter as chief scout from Premier League rival Manchester City as well as a number of others based overseas.
The structure will allow the club to replace Suarez or other players quickly should they depart, Ayre said. The changes came after the team spent 35 million pounds in 2011 on Newcastle’s Andy Carroll, a striker who last month moved to West Ham for as little as 15 million pounds.
“In every position on the pitch we have a fairly good idea of who are the best players available at what price in the event one of our players leaves,” Ayre said. “But that doesn’t mean we’re painting a negative scenario, it just means you’re planning well, which is what people expect.”
To contact the reporter on this story: Tariq Panja in the Rio de Janeiro newsroom at [email protected]Comment
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tariq panja @tariqpanja
15th July 2013 from TwitLonger
full Ayre quotes on Suarez:
I've heard him say it would great to have an opportunity to play for Arsenal and likewise Rel Madrid. But He certainly hasn’t called me up and said he wants to leave.
We had an offer which is fairly public from Arsenal. We said no to that offer, and as far as we’re concerned he turns iup for training when he's due back. And we'll move foirard on that basis. .
We get offers for lots of our players at different times. Unless we get to a siutaution where that player absolutely doesn't want to be here and we don’t want him to be here then that's a different kettle of fish. Right now we'd love to see Luis put on a Liverpool shirt for this season and beyond and we hope that once he gets back things will settle down.
http://tl.gd/n_1rlci1h · Reply
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So let's all stop speculating over spurious twitter rumours as from now on.Are we winning?Comment
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We're signing Kettle O'Fish?Comment
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Luis Suarez transfer race poised to speed up with Liverpool expecting Real Madrid's first official bid
Reported offer of Arsenal target Gonzalo Higuain as a replacement plus £10million is unlikely to impress anyone at Anfield
Liverpool are bracing themselves for Real Madrid to launch a move this week for Luis Suarez.
Spanish giants Real have been linked with Uruguay striker Suarez for most of the summer.
Now, the Reds are prepared to finally receive the formal bid they know is coming - the indications in Spain are that it will finally arrive in the next few days.
Sources close to Real are hinting the Bernabeu outfit are ready to offer striker Gonzalo Higuain - who, not co-incidentally is a long-term target for Arsenal, who are also being linked with Suarez - plus around £10million in cash.
Liverpool, who have no serious interest in Argentina international Higuain, will turn such a proposal down flat and immediately insist Suarez is not for sale unless a) any interested clubs activate the £40m exit clause in his contract, and b) the player submits an official transfer request.
But the opening gambit from Real, which could arrive as early as Tuesday, is seen both as an initial testing of the waters and as a shot across the bows of Arsenal, who have muddied the waters in recent days with their own apparent interest in Suarez.
The Gunners are still in for Higuain, who they value at around £20million, but have been unable to seal a deal.
The leak of their interest in Suarez is seen by many as a way of pressuring Real to reduce Higuain's price.
Real though, have responded in typical fashion by indicating they are ready to sell Higuain elsewhere - and their imminent formal offer for Suarez will send out a clear message to the north Londoners.
Liverpool, for their part, will insist Suarez remains an Anfield player...and they will only - reluctantly - do business if that contract clause is activated.
Reds manager Brendan Rodgers is ready to take the situation to the end of the transfer window in the hope he can deter any £40m-plus bids for Suarez and keep the player but, realistically, he knows Real are likely to meet the figure late in August.Comment
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As far as I've read so far, 40mil gets you access to talk to Suarez. The club want 50+ which would be his value? Really hope we stay firm and get what we want, as while we're in rebuild mode we are vulnerable to having our top talent picked off for less then their worth.Comment
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Hope we aren't waiting for funds before making our purchases. Real will attempt to cough up the money as late as humanly possible leaving us no time to buy a replacement.Comment
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Limited interest in him though............could be thankful for the 35m Arsenal are offering come the end of August.
Personally I think Real have their deal done with his side, but are manoeuvring around their transfer in/out business before consolidating their offer to us.
Think 50m is looking more and more less likely though, especially if Suarez comes back with an 'I'm outta here attitude'.
Probably lock the thread until then."I will make the boys feel your support"
Jurgen Klopp June 2020Comment
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Exactly nobody really goin at it hammer and tong to sign him.might end up staying good for the team as long as he doesn't incur anymore additional bansComment
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I won't wish him well if he goes.Substance > StyleComment
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