Liverpool have agreed a deal to sign Celta Vigo striker Iago Aspas according to the Liverpool Echo, who report the striker will be traveling to England next week to discuss personal terms.
His name may not be one of the star attractions in football gossip columns and there's a chance you might never have heard of him.
However, Aspas to Anfield could prove to be one of the most interesting moves of the summer, as much for his skill as for who he might be about to replace.
Aspas has scored 12 goals and registered five assists for Celta in 2012/13. He has been one of the key players in a relegation-threatened season for a side that has netted just 36 goals between them.
Primarily a striker, Aspas cannot be pigeon-holed as such. Technically gifted and blessed with great vision, he's best classed as an all-rounder. The Spaniard frequently drops deep, works the channels and can operate on both flanks. He also plays provider, taking on the playmaker role with ease.
Described by the Mirror’s David Cartlidge:
"The 25-year-old plays each game like it’s his last, getting in the faces of opponents and going to the ends of the earth for his team. He’s energy, enthusiasm, and endeavour. But he’s also skill and sublime."
Spanish football expert Guillem Balague said of the striker on Twitter:
While very different in terms of physique and style, it’s impossible not to reference Michu, who signed for Swansea from Rayo Vallecano in summer 2012. If Aspas can have as big an influence at Anfield as Michu has had at the Liberty Stadium, Liverpool fans will consider him a snip at £7.7 million.
However, did Brendan Rodgers buy Aspas as cover for Luis Suarez? Or was he bought in to replace the Uruguayan?
It’s an intriguing debate.
Suarez, who scored 23 goals in the Premier League for Liverpool this term, will face six games on the sidelines next season, as part of a 10-game ban for biting Chelsea’s Branislav Ivanovic.
The 26-year-old is an asset and a liability, all rolled into one.
Suarez has regularly been the subject of speculation linking him with a move away from Anfield. The bite incident, coupled with Liverpool’s failure to qualify for next season’s Champions League, left many thinking that he had played his last game in a Liverpool shirt.
He was quoted in the Independent in March, as saying:
"If another team comes around with more prospects of competing in international club competition games, which is willing to have me, they are welcome. We would talk to the club, we would see if I want to go, if I don't want to go."
Suarez has been linked with Juventus in the Daily Mail, and Bayern Munich have also been linked with the striker in the Express.
But it's speculation linking him to Real Madrid that seems to be gathering momentum. Rumours were already circulating back in January, according to the People.
However, this week saw the clearest indication yet that Suarez may be about to leave Merseyside. In an interview with Uruguayan radio station 890 Sport (via the Guardian) he hinted that criticism from the English press may force him to exit the Premier League.
In Andy Hunter's article for the Guardian, Suarez also conceded that it would be hard to decline an offer to join Real Madrid:
"To say no to Madrid would always be difficult and more so with the team they have. I have a contract with Liverpool, but it would be very difficult to say no to Real Madrid. There are a lot of rumours in the transfer period, but you never know until firm offers are made."
And it seems that in this case, there has been no mistranslation of the radio interview.The Guardian’s Sid Lowe tweeted:
Aspas can also be accused of being hot-headed, having received a four-match ban himself this season for a headbutt in the Galician derby against Deportivo La Coruna, as reported on ESPNfc.com.
It will be interesting to see if both he and Suarez will be at Liverpool next season.
Aspas will sign a deal with Liverpool after appearing in Celta Vigo’s last game of the season against Espanyol this weekend and, if the Spanish side are relegated, Liverpool could see his fee reduced to £6 million.
The smell is more pleasant and there is no sign of Bill Shankly’s famous ‘sweat box’. Melwood has been transformed since the days when Ian Callaghan honed his skills there.
The Kop legend was back at Liverpool’s training base yesterday – more than half a century after he first walked through the gates.
The state-of-the-art facility in West Derby is a world away from what Callaghan, the Reds’ record appearance holder, encountered when he turned up for training as a 15-year-old back in 1957.
“There used to be a pigsty over there in the corner,” Callaghan recalled.
“We would be training and the smell of it would drift across. It’s unbelievable to think back now.
“As a teenager I came down on Tuesday and Thursday nights. They were long days.
“I’d leave home about 7am, get to work for 8am, finish at 5pm and then jump the No 61 bus to Melwood Drive.
“There were two occasions when the fog came down after training and the buses were cancelled. I lived in Toxteth and I’d have no choice but to walk back – getting home about midnight.
“When I first signed as a 17-year-old pro, a coach would bring us down to training at Melwood and sometimes they would get us to run back to Anfield.
“Melwood has changed so much. The wooden building where we used to get changed looked like a cricket pavilion and was very basic.
“Liverpool were a Second Division side going nowhere but after Bill Shankly was appointed in ‘59 he transformed the place. What Liverpool Football Club is today, a fantastic worldwide club, he started it all off.
“Suddenly, everything we did was with a ball. Shanks brought in the shooting boards and the sweat box, which had walls about 30 yards apart.
“You had to play the ball off one wall, control it, turn and then play it off the other board. Your legs would be like jelly. It was great because you were working on your control and stamina at the same time.”
Liverpool are giving supporters the chance to go behind the scenes at Melwood for the first time this summer with tours taking place until June 16.
With Brendan Rodgers’ squad on their holidays, fans get access to all areas including the changing rooms, the pitches, the press conference room, the medical room, the gymnasium and the canteen.
Callaghan, who scored 68 goals in 857 appearances for the Reds between 1960 and 1978, was impressed by what he saw.
“It’s a very different game today,” he said.
“The pitches are as good now as at the start of the season and the balls are a lot lighter.
“I just picked up a pair of boots and there’s no weight in them at all! In my day, you had a pair of training boots and a pair of match boots to last you the season.
“If your match boots got a bit of a slit you would take them to a cobbler on Priory Road to get it stitched.
“We went through a season with just 14 players but now it’s a squad game.
“As for the swimming pool, the nearest thing we had to that was the communal bath at Anfield. After winning the league everyone would be in that bath with the champagne. That was our pool!”
There was no sports science department when Callaghan was a regular at Melwood. These days each player trains with a GPS tracking device and a heart-rate monitor to provide staff with valuable data.
“It’s every scientific today and they know exactly what each player is capable of doing,” Callaghan said.
“Players are more athletic and fitter, the pitches are better and the game is much quicker.
“We only had a tiny gym with a few weights and a leg press. It only got used by players who were coming back from injury and looking to build their strength up.
“These days players are in the gym every day and they all have individually tailored programmes.
“We didn’t even have a separate physio. When Shanks was manager, his assistant Bob Paisley used to do it as part of his duties. Bob was fantastic at diagnosing injuries and getting the treatment right to get you going again.
“I remember having treatment one day and the door opened. Shanks popped his head in, looked around, shook his head and then the door closed. If you weren’t fit to play you weren’t of any use to him.”
Callaghan believes one link with the past remains – the style of play Rodgers has installed since his appointment a year ago.
He said: “Bill Shankly was always about pass and move and the way we played the game is very similar to the way Brendan Rodgers wants Liverpool to play.
“It’s very attractive to watch. I thought the performances last season warranted more in terms of points.
“There was progress over the season and he’s got a good squad. I’m hopeful that next season we’ll be up there competing with the top sides.”
Story by LiverpoolEcho
Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher has officially retired from the game and will take a seat on Sky Sports as one of the pundits from next season onwards.
However, he won't go without giving his thoughts on some of the best ever footballers he has played with and against.
The defender made his Liverpool debut back in 1997 and he went on to make over 500 appearances for his boy-hood club and during that time, he has played with and against some of the games best. The veteran has been part of many strong Liverpool sides, that have won FA Cups, League Cups and European silverware.
But who did Carragher pick in his ultimate Liverpool XI and ultimate opposition XI?
Find out below:
Liverpool XI
Goalkeeper: Pepe Reina
Opposition XIRight-back: Steve Finnan
Centre-back: Sami Hypia
Centre-back: Daniel Agger
Left-back: John Arne Riise
Centre-midfield: Steven Gerrard
Centre-midfield: Xabi Alonso
Centre-midfield: Didi Hamann
Forward: Michael Owen
Forward: Robbie Fowler
Forward: Luis Suarez
Three Subs: Fernando Torres, Markus Babbel, Javier Mascherano
Goalkeeper: Gianluigi Buffon
Right-back: Cafu
Centre-back: Fabio Cannavaro
Centre-back: Marcel Desailly
Left-back: Paolo Maldini
Centre-midfield: Roy Keane
Centre-midfield: Xavi
Centre-midfield: Andres Iniesta
Forward: Cristiano Ronaldo
Forward: Thierry Henry
Forward: Lionel Messi
Three Subs: Alessandro Nesta, Patrick Vieira, Didier Drogba
Fabio Borini will be in competitive action during the summer after being confirmed as a member of Italy's squad for the European U21 Championship in Israel.
The 22-year-old, who joined Liverpool a year ago and made 20 appearances in 2012-13, retained his place after the travelling party was reduced to 23 players.
Borini could potentially face club teammates Jordan Henderson, Jack Robinson, Jonjo Shelvey and Andre Wisdom at the tournament, with Italy set to face England in their opening match on June 5.
Hosts Israel and Norway complete the section, while Germany, Netherlands, Russia and holders Spain will compete in Group B. The top two teams in each group progress to the semi-finals.
Luis Suarez has been voted the 2012-13 Standard Chartered Player of the Season by Liverpool supporters.
The Uruguyan picked up a massive 64 per cent in the Liverpoolfc.com poll, finishing clear of second-placed captain Steven Gerrard and the retired Jamie Carragher in third.
Centre-back Daniel Agger and January signing Philippe Coutinho completed the top five.
"It's incredible for me," Suarez told LFC TV after collecting the annual prize.
"This is very important for my life and I know I have the supporters helping me - it's so important for me.
"My work is helping the team and I try my best on the pitch. I hoped the team would be in a better position but we tried our best. We are all ready for next season.
"When the manager arrived here it was a little difficult because maybe he didn't know the players or the club. The first season for the manager was good for the confidence of the players. Next season we can be better.
"Of course there's more to come from not only me but all of the players in the dressing room. That's important."
Suarez topped the Liverpool scoring chart with 30 goals in all competitions for the season, including 23 strikes in the Barclays Premier League.
The 26-year-old was included in the PFA team of the year and finished second behind Tottenham Hotspur winger Gareth Bale in the race for PFA Player of the Year.
Earlier this month the Liverpool Disabled Supporters Association also overwhelmingly voted Suarez as their player of the year.
In total the striker has notched 51 goals in 96 appearances for the club since arriving from Dutch side Ajax in January 2011.
And Suarez was keen to stress his gratitude to Reds fans for selecting him for the honour.
"Thank you very much - this is a very important prize for me. I say thank-you for that," he added.
Anfield great Ian Callaghan has praised Brendan Rodgers for trying to recreate the Boot Room spirit at Anfield.
Cally is Liverpool's 857-match appearance record holder and featured through much of the Bill Shankly and Bob Paisley eras.
He remains a frequent visitor to Anfield and likes what he sees from the Rodgers project.
"I had the privilege of playing for two of the greatest managers football has ever seen in Shanks and Bob," declares Callaghan, who made a unique journey with Liverpool from the old Second Division to the club's first European Cup triumph in 1977.
"Shanks was without doubt the greatest motivator I've ever known. He had a way with words that was just inspiring. He could make you feel 10 feet tall. Bob, on the other hand, was a fantastic tactician and had an uncanny ability to spot weaknesses in the opposition for us to exploit.
"Shanks and Bob laid down the process of continuity at Anfield which saw men like Joe Fagan and Roy Evans emerge from the Boot Room to become manager, as did former teammates of mine Kenny Dalglish and Graeme Souness.
"I think current manager Brendan Rodgers is trying to rekindle the old spirit of the club in the modern era."
Callaghan and Ian St John join author and broadcaster John Keith at Newtownabbey's Theatre at the Mill in Northern Ireland on Thursday, June 6.
Brendan Rodgers has yet to nominate a member of his squad to replace Carragher as Steven Gerrard's deputy, but Agger edged the vote when we canvassed supporters' opinion.
The centre-back, who passed 200 appearances for the Reds during the recently completed season, picked up 44 per cent in our online poll - ahead of Spanish goalkeeper Pepe Reina on 31 per cent.
Lucas Leiva and Luis Suarez each tallied seven per cent of the votes, while Jordan Henderson rounded out the top five on three per cent.
Agger already wears the skipper's armband for his national team, Denmark, and the 28-year-old has established himself as first-choice under Rodgers; the defender featured on 39 occasions during 2012-13.
For his part, Reina has previously captained the Reds 20 times in the Barclays Premier League in the absence of Carragher and Gerrard, while Suarez was skipper against Oldham last season.
Stephen was a Liverpool U9's player who tragically passed away in November 2012 after an incredibly brave battle against cancer.
The 'Stephen Packer Memorial Pitch' now has its own Shankley Gates-style entrance bearing Stephen's name.
A plaque was also unveiled to commemorate the renaming and afterwards a canvas of Stephen was presented to his family - a bigger version of which is now on proud display inside the Academy.
Earlier this week, as a fitting tribute to the youngster, Academy representatives completed a demanding three-peak challenge in under nine hours to raise funds for Alder Hey Children's hospital in Stephen's memory.
Among the group of 25 staff and players were Academy director McParland, Stephen's parents and his granddad.
So far over £7,000 has been raised for such a worthwhile cause - but the Academy still need your donations.
To visit Liverpool FC's JustGiving page, click here>>
If you would like to donate, text SPAC93 followed by the amount that you would like to give to 70070. For example, if you wish to send £5, text 'SPAC93 £5' to 70070.
Werner, who also owns the Boston Red Sox, revealed his belief that Rodgers, who took over at Anfield after leaving Swansea last summer, is making ‘remarkable progress.’
He told the Liverpool Echo: “I think Brendan has made remarkable progress. Obviously there is disappointment that we didn't finish higher in the table but the team has certainly improved as the season has gone on.
'To see the new additions in January, Daniel Sturridge and Philippe Coutinho, perform so well has been very positive to see.”
Coutinho, 20, has adapted quickly to life in the Premier League and has established himself in the Liverpool starting eleven, forming a formidable understanding with Sturridge.
The Brazilian started his career at Vasco da Gama but quickly caught the eye of Italian giants Inter. Despite a good start in the San Siro, Coutinho was sent out on loan to Espanyol last season and his good form paved the way for his move to Anfield in the summer.
The 35-year-old said goodbye to the Kop on an emotional afternoon at Anfield following the Reds' 1-0 win over Queens Park Rangers on Sunday.
Earlier in the week, at the club's Melwood training complex, he became the proud recipient of a specially commissioned painting by local artist Joe Forrest.
Brendan Rodgers, Jamie's dad Phil and Mike Lepic of the 23 Foundation, posed for pictures with the canvas, which features the famous Liverpool skyline behind a drawing of the defender marshalling the Reds' back-line.
Each member of the Liverpool squad, coaching and backroom staff, added their own personal messages and signatures to the painting.
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