LIVERPOOL HAVE told Real Madrid there will be no compromise over their asking price for Xabi Alonso as the Spanish midfielder prepares to join Rafael Benitez’s team in Norway tonight rather than seal a protracted move to the Bernabeu.
Alonso was allowed to remain in Spain following Liverpool’s pre-season friendly against Espanyol on Sunday, along with several compatriots from Benitez’s squad. The 27-year-old is expected to travel with Liverpool to Oslo this evening, however, ahead of a friendly against FC Lyn tomorrow night, as Real have yet to meet the Anfield club’s €35 million valuation of the influential playmaker.
The saga of Alonso’s future appeared close to conclusion after a meeting between Liverpool’s new managing director, Christian Purslow, and the executive director-general of Real, Jose Angel Sanchez, in Barcelona on Sunday. But the meeting merely impressed on Real only an offer of €35 million, plus additional bonus payments, would tempt Liverpool to sell at this late stage in the close season. Purslow has confirmed there was no agreement during his meeting with Sanchez. “This [meeting] has only served to put our positions on the table. We need to continue talking,” he said.
Real had not returned with an improvement on their existing €29.5 million bid by close of business yesterday, although sources in Madrid claim the club’s president, Florentino Perez, believes it remains a case of when and not if Alonso becomes his latest signing.
Benitez has lined up Roma’s €21 million-rated Alberto Aquilani as a replacement for Alonso should the deal go through, although the Liverpool manager remains reluctant to lose an established Premier League asset ahead of a season that carries expectations of the title. Alonso, who has submitted a transfer request in an effort to force through a move to Madrid, believes Sunday’s meeting represents an important breakthrough in the exhaustive process.
“It’s reassuring to know Madrid and Liverpool are talking seriously now,” he told the Spanish newspaper AS. “I decided a long time ago to stay on the margin of everything that was happening. My stance has been clear, as you all know. I’m a professional and I must wait for an agreement to be reached but I hope it is resolved soon, for better or for worse.”
The Liverpool midfielder Albert Riera, meanwhile, has dismissed concerns over the team’s pre-season form, with even Benitez criticising the work rate in the 3-0 loss to Espanyol on Sunday.
“Some of us came back from our national teams a little bit later and have only had 10 or 12 days’ training,” said Riera. “We need a little bit more before the start of the season, but we will be ready. Of course we are disappointed because we lost. Even if it’s a friendly match, you always want to win but, as I said, it is all about being ready for the very first game.”
Franco di Santo last night joined Blackburn Rovers on loan until January, with the Chelsea striker surplus to the immediate requirements of the London club’s new manager, Carlo Ancelotti. Di Santo, the 20-year-old Argentina youth international, has struggled to make an impact since his €3.5 million move from Chilean club Audax Italiano 18 months ago.
Ancelotti is hopeful of closing a deal for the playmaker Andrea Pirlo from his former club Milan, although it is expected he will have to pay in excess of €17.6 million. Chelsea also have an interest in Bayern Munich’s France forward Franck Ribery. But Ancelotti, who preferred to work with a squad of 24 players at Milan, is happy to prune the group he has inherited at Chelsea.
Strikers Andriy Shevchenko and Claudio Pizarro have returned from their loan spells at Milan and Werder Bremen respectively and they are expected to be moved on.
Michael Mancienne, the England Under-21 defender, will be offered a four-year contract but he could be loaned out if Chelsea were to end the summer with sufficient cover at the back. Chelsea said they want to hold on to Joe Cole, in the face of interest from Tottenham.
Guardian Service
