SOCCER: ENGLISH PREMIER LEAGUE TRANSFER NEWS: LIVERPOOL AND Chelsea produced an extraordinary finale to the January window yesterday by both agreeing to break the British transfer record to sign Andy Carroll and Fernando Torres respectively in a combined spending spree that could reach almost €175 million.
Torres was set to become the most expensive signing made by a British club when Chelsea finally met Liverpool’s €58 million asking price but it was the Anfield club’s decision to pay €41 million to lure Carroll from Newcastle United that caused the greater surprise on deadline day.
Fenway Sports Group, Liverpool’s owner, committed a further €26.7 million to secure the signature of Luis Suarez from Ajax while Roman Abramovich’s outlay eventually reached €89.5 million when Chelsea sealed a deal worth €31 million for David Luiz from Benfica.
Liverpool moved for Carroll as they prepared to allow Torres to complete his acrimonious departure from Anfield. An initial €29 million offer was rejected by Mike Ashley, the Newcastle owner, but Liverpool were informed an additional €11.7 million would be sufficient to sign a 21-year-old who has made only 41 appearances in the Premier League and won one England cap.
FSG then sanctioned Liverpool’s club record transfer and, despite claims that Newcastle had rejected the deal and were reluctant to let their home-grown talent leave, Carroll flew to Merseyside in a private jet to undergo a medical and finalise personal terms after submitting a transfer request.
Carroll will join Suarez in a new-look Liverpool attack once the Uruguay international has been granted a work
permit. At the time of going to press, FSG was also looking to end its protracted pursuit of the midfielder Charlie Adam having made a third offer to Blackpool in the region of €11.7 million. A deal for Adam would take Liverpool’s spending to around €82 million in one day and underlined FSG’s intention to move on without Torres.
Kenny Dalglish, Liverpool’s caretaker manager, warned the Spain international that he was leaving a club on the rise and issued a public rebuke to any player who believed themselves more important than Liverpool. He also vowed that, as was the case when he replaced Kevin Keegan in 1977 and reinvested Ian Rush’s transfer fee from Juventus in 1987, Liverpool would progress whether Torres, who ironically had become disillusioned by the lack of new faces at Anfield, remained or not.
Dalglish said: “I started off at Celtic and moved on but if Kevin Keegan had not gone, maybe I would not be here. It’s no different now – people move on. The most important thing is the club. That is much more important and bigger than any one individual, no matter who has been through it previously and who will in the future – the club is the club. I will never forget that and anyone who does is being a wee bit stupid and irresponsible.”
Torres is expected to take the number nine shirt at Chelsea, having arrived in London last night to undergo a medical, while Suarez has been allocated Dalglish’s former number seven jersey at Liverpool.
Chelsea’s lavish outlay came on the day the club announced losses of €83 million for the financial year ending in June 2010, with Abramovich’s sudden willingness to return to the mind-boggling spending of the early years of his ownership a reflection of the need to overhaul the champions’ relatively thin squad.
It means the oligarch effectively spent as much yesterday as he has on transfer fees since Jose Mourinho’s departure from Stamford Bridge in the autumn of 2007.
The payments for Torres will be spread over the five years of his €205,000-a-week contract, subject to his passing a medical, and the striker is set to make his debut against his former club on Sunday. He will compete with Didier Drogba and Nicolas Anelka for a starting place, though his arrival may herald a change in tactical approach from Carlo Ancelotti.
GuardianService
