Speaking to the Liverpool Echo, Rafa Benitez admitted that he paid more than he would have liked for Glen Johnson, that if Arbeloa refuses to sign a new contract he will likely be sold and that the reds do have enough cash for one more signing.
Liverpool confirmed last night that they had agreed terms on a transfer of Glen Johnson, believed to be around £17M, which will go ahead next week. Benitez admitted that the price was high for a right back:
“Sometimes you have to spend a little bit more.
“You can’t compete in the top four of the Premier League unless you spend some money.
“We were looking for a player of quality and also somebody who is British because of the new Champions League rules.
“Glen Johnson fits both categories.”
Alvaro Arbeloa has only one year left on his Liverpool contract and doesn’t appear ready to sign a new contract. Rafa said:
“Alvaro Arbeloa has had a very good season but he has one year left on his contract.
If he signs that will be good because we will have more competition, but if we get a good offer we will have to consider it.”
Rafa also went on to dispel suggestions that he needs to sell before he can make another purchase.
“We have a plan. We can sign one more player if necessary, but that’s without any players leaving.”
sell alonso & arbeloa and use the money to sign klass jan hunterlaar & rafael van der vaart…i will like to see hunterlaar be partnership with fernando torres because it will be powerful actacking formation n also play van der vaart alongside with steven gerrard because they more creative in midfield. By the way , must keep mascherano to stay at anfield! must sell other players like lucas leiva , voronin, degen & dossena & use that rest of money to sign one potential player to replace alonso…i think david silva is suitable person reina johnson carragher skrtel insua silva mascherano van der vaart gerrard huntelaar torres
you lot cant see the club and what it is trying to do, i agree it would be great to see your so called super star names arrive at liverpool but that going to happen, the johnson deal is a good deal, pompey owe us 7mill we paid them 10.5 mill over the next 4 years of his contract, so staggered the payments, on top of that by selling dossena for the same amount we brought him is class by rafa, and yes to let arbeloa go is ashame but we got him deportivo for 2.5 now we are selling him for nearly 6 mill. rafa is mostly very good at getting in cash, add to this he is still making cash on the leto deal he is going for 3mill, we brought him for 2.5 mill, so yet agian made there, then we are selling itandge for close to 1 mill, then we have pennant off the wage bill finally,
add voronin who might be off for 4 mill when we got him on a free, then liverpool do have the funds to but another big player and a cover for the squad.
rafa cannot buy top top players with no money, he is doing his best and to be able to purchase glen johnson for around hard cash at 10.5 mill is great business, what do you really get for that nowadays, that money is now in todays market seem like peanuts,
maybe,
reina
johnson carragher agger insua
silva mascherano alonso
gerrard torres kuyt
Good news that we can hopefully sign another player without anyone leaving. Lets hope this player is a high calibre player rather than a cheap gamble in the vein of Bellamy, Pennant, Riera etc.
I have reservations about Silva. He’s, only scored 4 in 36 in 2006-07 with 5 assists and 5 in 34 in 2007-08 with only 5 assists. Can’t really comment on his performances last season becuase he only started 17 games scoring 4 goals with 7 assists. Hardly the form of a player warranting a £25m price tag.
I feel we need an offensive player that is really going to make a difference. These stats show a player that we all know looks very nice on the ball but how effective is he in real terms. I haven’t checked but I’m guessing Kuyt and Benayoun boast more impressive stats than Silva. If players aren’t getting lots of goals then they need to be making them in the vein of someone like Rooney. I hate to applaud the little git but he regulalry gets into double figures in terms of both goalscoring and assists.
It is clear without any doubt that Liverpool lacks a quality forward to help Torres. Having no money is a poor excuse because in the end of transfers we will have spent probably enough money to buy two extra quality players. Instead, like every previous year, Raffa will buy a bunch of medium quality players. What misses is someone to score a goal at least in two of six matches in a row when liverpool plays 0:0 every season. Also, lucas leiva is not a caliber for the best teams in the world…anyway we will see, but we must reinforce to beat man utd…
This doesn’t seem logical at all. The main weakness is that we don’t have good players at the front but Torres, we don’t mainly need defenders and I’m not sure whether they can help us in beating those “little stones” on our way to the title.
We have been drawn by Fulham, West Ham Utd and Stoke City home and away, why? I think that Torres is not a sword for all battles. I expected this transfer to be the last one for Liverpool this summer not the first one, but I’m sure that with selling Dossena and Mascherano more funds will be available.
Voronin is on his way back to the Anfield, but I’m not sure if he’s good enough to play in the 1st team while having him on the bench and buying a better striker would leave us with more chances to win.
you have not got a clue sell mascharano and replace him with who
Think Johnson is a good signing and if he turns in some good performances the money will be irrlevant. We started slowly last season we play a great continental passing game but struggled against defensive teams think johnson on one side , riera on the other will create some good attacking chances. I think dosenna needs another year to settle he started to turn in some good performances towards the end of the year. People forget that most times it takes time for a player from abroad to settle into the premiership albeit players like nando are an exception but thats usually not the case. Also wish people would get off the back of Lucas the lad is only young he’s putting the effort in bulking up and will hopefully show some more promise next season played well towards the end of the season give the lad a chance. We still came second in the league and scored more goals than anyone else with these players in the team. As regards another signing hope rafa brings in a winger but imho if a player doesn’t want to come and play for the club he’s not worth having. Cant see silva or villa coming to the prem this season but you never know… and weve just signed a 16 year old called jesus now he’s gotta be good lol In Rafa we Trust
I’m happy that another expensive player can be added without having to sell,i would like for it to be David Silva.Hopefully the likes of Dossena,Degan,Arbeloa,Pennant and perhaps even Lucas will move on adding a few million more to the transfer kitty.
If Mascherano leaves then that should bring in at least another £30 million so things are looking good.Simply put we don’t have the financial muscle to compete for the best players in the world so no point in moaning.It’s not Rafa’s fault that Moores sold the club to the Americans.
Wow another possible signing. I bet Man U are real concerned as will be Chelsea and Arsenal. Look at the players sitting on the bench and there is no comparison. Liverpool “lost” the title because of the weakness on the bench. A decent RB has now been bought but can he defend, where is the competition if Arbeloa is sold. If Richards is unsettled at Man City why hasn’t a bid gone in for him? He covers three positions and wouldn’t cost the earth. Aggar and Skrtel are not the commanding CH’s that we need and where is Huypia’s replacement. Hopefully the “other signing” is a decent goal scoring CF as what happens when Torres is injured? Ngog is not the answer. Every Summer there is hope that 3 worldclass players will be added and every Summer it is bargain basement time. No new Stadium, no worldclass players, no real funds, NO CHANCE.