me too! Im not too keen on changing my name to Gareth Barry!

Ben where are you getting your quotes from mate???

Alonso news is all over the web. Riise also linked with Juve too apparently

Various different sites.

Koptalk

You don't use that place do you mate?

Anyway, the Alonso story is gathering pace and there certainly seems to be substance behind it. Apparently the deal is imminent. I am surprised.

That said, if it means we can spend more on a right-winger and/or striker then i'll be more than satisfied.

Rumour is that Alonso is now linked with a 12 million pounds move to Juventus...

http://www.espnstar.com/epl/newsdetails.cmd?id=7043140

Rafa wants £16m before he'll consider it apparently.

Dont blame him too!

He needs as much money as possible to get the guys he wants so he'll be pricing our guys for sale highly. I'm sure he'll have leeway and meet in between so maybe Alonso will go for 14 million. It's a way to squeeze out a few more quid from buyers.

yeah id agree thats probably the tactic although its not unrealistic to demand £16m for Alonso when compared to some english midfielders like Carrick and Hargreeves, not mention Barry for around £15m somehow being english seems to add credibility to higher transfer fee's!??!?! its strange.

I agree. There are Chelsea's around there that pay right at or above sticker price... Which we all know...

Sticker price = sucker price.

But if they have the money, then it's all the better for us. I'd personally like Xabi to stay though. He had a bad injury early on in the year and wasn't able to reach his full ability so I can't blame him for not being a superstar this year. He fits very well in the new system, and he's one of my favorite players so I'm hoping he stays. If not, I hope he goes to Juventus or Barcelona so at least those are teams I don't mind. And if he leaves I'll have to throw away my Xabi poster.

Yeah Xabi is a quality player and I'd hate to see him leave but at the same time I can see the idea behind moving him on at a high fee.

He has never really reached the hights of his first season for us and in truth is that no matter how much we like him and how well we've done during his time here, the team is still searching for the right blend in midfield to push on to challenge for the title..

This season Xabi has looked a little off the pace and has been found dwelling on the ball for a split second longer than required on more than a few occasions. Maybe the introduction of Barry in his place will offer us something else. He wouldnt have the passing range of Alonso but would defo give us a bit more steele and english grit in the middle of the park, not to mention an eye for goal too.

It would be sad to see Xabi go but for the benifit of the team as a whole I can understand the logic.

By the look sof it Liverpool are looking to head into the new season with a more attacking line up using the width from attacking full backs, so suring up the middle of the park to allow the full backs to roam forward is a must, in that sense I think the aquisition of Barry would make sense sitting in alongside Mascherano while Gerrard roams behind Torres.

I was pleased to wake up this morning and read Benitez is holding out for £16m. £12m would be a joke. We should try and entice either Real or Barca into a bidding war for him if we can, or at least another side, and hence push up the price to as much as possible. If we can switch Alonso for Barry and at a profit, that would be good business in my opinion.

The generated funds will go nicely towards a more attacking player or players. Hell if we sell Crouch to, as we could be forced to, we may be looking at £40m to throw around, on top of any initial budget:

Itandje - £2m
Carson - £6m
Finnan - £2m
Riise - £4m
Alonso - £16m
Guthrie - £2m
Pennant - £6m
Crouch - £8m
Voronin - £2m
TOTAL - £48m

Those are all pretty likely departures, with Finnan replaced by Degen, Riise for a long time doomed, Pennant told he can leave, Crouch unhappy, Carson wanting first team football, Guthrie a youngster, Itandje inadequate cover and obviously Alonso's situation. The only one i hold much doubt over is Voronin as Benitez may prefer to keep with 4 strikers, no matter their quality. Considering a starting budget of about £15m should be a minimum if we're to compete, and if Hicks has any intentions of staying, we'll have a huge transfer kitty this summer, comfortably £60m+ - mostly self-generated too!

Going off mostly rumours, and knowing what areas we'll have to fix:

Rame (Keeper) - Trade/Itandje + £2m
Degen (Right-Back) - Free
Dossena (Left-Back) - £8m
Barry (Centre-Mid) - £14m
Riera (Left-Mid) - £7m
? (Right-Mid) - £Xm
? (Striker) - £Xm
TOTAL - £31m

That would mean we'd have around £30m at least to spend on two positions.

I'd be surprised to see so much work done (it is six outfield players after all), but with the inevitable departures a lot of work may have to be done. I'm just hoping so badly that through all of this we manage to solve the right-wing position. That's vital.

You love doing those things dont you Ben. I think every time i look in this thread your playing manager

Liverpool boss Rafael Benitez has hit back at claims the club's asking price for keeper Scott Carson is too high.

Carson, 22, has been on a season-long loan at Aston Villa this season, but any permanent move is being held up by his believed £10m-price tag.

"It is a matter between the clubs," Benitez told the Liverpool Echo.

"We agreed the fee with Aston Villa last year. The fee has been there for one season so to talk about the fee now is not correct."

Benitez added that his Villa counterpart Martin O'Neill was aware of the situation.

problem would be solved if we did a part-exchange deal for barry

Yeh, i'm just a bit apprehensive about whether we'll have enough money to get the players we need in the positions we need.

The owners situation does make things around Liverpool's summer a little more uncertain. Here's hoping Rafa has my way of thinking...


Anyway, more rumours:

We're linked with relegated Real Zaragoza's striker Sergio Garcia for £12m.

Catania’s left-back Juan Vargas’ agent has listed us as one of many clubs interested in him, the price £11m.

And Albert Riera has demanded a transfer away from Espanyol. Whether it’s to us is another matter. He would be open to it by the way he speaks, so it just remains as to whether he is wanted. (For the right price i'd take him to pressure Babel on the left.)

I wonder what the chances would be of us selling Carson to Middlesbrough now they've let Schwarzer join Fulham? I'm not convinced O'Neill will cooperate.

You can't sell him to them losers. Villa would be a much better club for him. Plus southgate has said hes not spending much money this summer.

Well they're going to need a 'keeper... I think he'll eventually go for something like £6m.

He has said he'd rather move to the Championship than stay second choice at Liverpool or go back on loan.

It would be a really good buy for them but he could do much better