Portsmouth fullback Glen Johnson was on Merseyside yesterday.
Despite interest from Chelsea, The Times says Johnson was undergoing a medical at Liverpool last night.
Liverpool snap up Johnson in £18m deal
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Chelsea must be nuts to replace Bosingwa with Glen Johnson... Karl-Heinz Rummenigge knows what he is talking about...
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Originally posted by Poolman:
I remember Gary Mcallister was about 30+ , when he joined LFC on a free .
Everyone was saying ... his twilight years la , retirement age la .....
Looked what he did ?
He played his best football at Liverpool !!!
True but he's free. whereas Glen will cost 17m
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Blues match Reds' bid for Johnson
Portsmouth executive chairman Peter Storrie has confirmed Chelsea have matched Liverpool's £17.5million bid for England defender Glen Johnson.
Pompey accepted a bid from Liverpool earlier this week and the 24-year-old looked set to seal a move to Anfield.
However, Storrie has confirmed the Fratton Park club have also now agreed terms with Chelsea - Johnson's former club.
The in-demand full-back now has a decision to make, with both sides keen to tie up a deal this week.
"The matter will come to a conclusion at the beginning of next week. I do not have a preference over the move, it is up to Glen," Storrie said.
"The deals are almost identical so it really is down to him and what club he prefers, which one is going to pay him more money.
"Glen wants to play regularly in the Champions League, he has got himself back in the England side so I understand that. Sometimes you have to be fair to players."
Storrie admits that Johnson needs to be playing Champions League football next season in order to secure his place in Fabio Capello's starting XI - with the World Cup finals now less than 12 months away.
"It's a big year for him with the World Cup coming up," he added.
"Playing Champions League football will make him an even better player than he is today."
teamtalk
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If ask Glenn to choose, he will choose Liverpool.
He is a good player but £17m is abit too ex...
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Yea still think he'd go for Liverpool.
Unless Chelsea decides to sell Bosingwa to Bayern...then maybe different story...
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Originally posted by omgukilledkenny:
Yea still think he'd go for Liverpool.
Unless Chelsea decides to sell Bosingwa to Bayern...then maybe different story...
then i shall hope Bosingwa go Bayern
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... Next thing we know, Rafa is going to up his to $18m or $19m... Cos he won't want to lose to the blues... But for Chelsea to blow $20m away is not so damaging to their transfer funds as to Pool blowing $20m away... Because they are rich...
But I believe he is heading for Pool, read somewhere he had just completed his medical with Pool... So unless something good happen to them, he will end up at Anfield...
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Overpriced and overrated Johnson will be just another Rafa defensive howler - like Dossena, Arbeloa and Degen
Adequate defender, not a midfielder: Glen Johnson will be £17m poorly spent by Rafa Benitez
If Rafael Benitez pulls off the signing of Glen Johnson from Portsmouth he will probably consider it a major victory. After all, considerably richer clubs than Liverpool - Chelsea and Manchester City - have also been seriously interested in the defender.
But if Benitez pays £17 million or more for Johnson it is more like an own goal that should be condemned than a deal which deserves a bout of backslapping at Anfield.
No matter how much Liverpool are still owed by Portsmouth for Peter Crouch, the headline figure for Johnson is exorbitant.
Any fee would eat in to Benitez's unimpressive transfer budget and it would be money wasted. Liverpool already have defenders who haven't lived up to expectations. Indeed, they are going to have to sell one or two of them to try to balance the books after forking out for Johnson.
Benitez is clueless about full-backs - think Alvaro Arbeloa, Andrea Dossena and Philipp Degen - and allowing him to sign one of the world's most expensive even though doubts remain about his defending means Liverpool's American owners are even sillier than we thought.
Johnson is one of those players who is not quite solid enough as a defender or clever enough in midfield. Managers can make a team work with him in it but Benitez would be better off spending what little money he has ensuring key players such as Xabi Alonso, Javier Mascherano and Pepe Reina stay than adding to his list of inadequate signings.
Johnson: Overpriced and overrated?
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Overpriced, over-rated. Slow
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let's hope chelsea will steal him
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Portsmouth's Johnson undergoes Liverpool medical
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Originally posted by limpper:
Portsmouth's Johnson undergoes Liverpool medical
Portsmouth fullback Glen Johnson was on Merseyside yesterday.
Despite interest from Chelsea, The Times says Johnson was undergoing a medical at Liverpool last night.
good good
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Originally posted by limpper:
Portsmouth's Johnson undergoes Liverpool medical
Portsmouth fullback Glen Johnson was on Merseyside yesterday.
Despite interest from Chelsea, The Times says Johnson was undergoing a medical at Liverpool last night.
hope he fail. -
How come this deal so long still haven't settle, is Rafa having second thoughts of it?
Maybe he read too many people saying he is overpriced and overrated for $18m?
I wonder whats the delay about...
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that's no rush for the deal to go through.
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please. liverpool pls sign him
i can't wait for another own goal at last min of champion league semi
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We dun need a Chelsea flop.
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Liverpool snap up first summer signing after landing England star Johnson in £18m deal
Liverpool have made their first major signing of the summer by landing Glen Johnson in a £18million deal.
The Portsmouth right-back has snubbed a return to Chelsea to wrap up a switch to Anfield.
Johnson's arrival is a relief to Reds fans, who have seen boss Rafa Benitez struggle in the transfer market with his limited funds.
A club statement read: 'Liverpool FC confirmed this evening that they had reached an agreement with Portsmouth Football Club and with Glen Johnson for the transfer of the player to Anfield.'
Johnson's sale marks a major profit for Pompey, who signed the defender for just £4m from Chelsea two years ago.
Since then, he has emerged as a serious contender for the right-back berth for England heading into next summer's World Cup finals.
Benitez is eager to boost his backline ahead of the forthcoming season and the signing could mark the end of Alvaro Arbeloa's time at Anfield.
The Spanish international has been linked with big-spending Real Madrid, while Barcelona are lining up a move for Liverpool midfielder Javier Mascherano.
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LIVERPOOL have bust the bank to make Glen Johnson one of the highest-paid defenders in the Premier League.
Johnson hit the jackpot in his £18.5million move from Portsmouth yesterday with a £100,000-a-week, four-year deal worth a whopping £21m.
The England full-back, 24, had given the thumbs up to Liverpool last Thursday - as revealed in SunSport - but Manchester City made a late attempt to hijack the switch.
And that led to Johnson striking it rich. Kop boss Rafa Benitez had expected to get his man on far lower wages, yet when City entered the bidding it led to a hasty rethink on his personal terms.
Mark Hughes' men were prepared to pay £80,000 a week and Benitez had to trump that figure to complete his first major transfer of the summer.
Chelsea had also been in the hunt for the defender, who had four years at Stamford Bridge, but he eventually plumped for Merseyside ahead of west London.
Liverpool can wipe an immediate £7m from the fee - Pompey still owe that amount from signing Peter Crouch last year.
Johnson's capture is a huge coup for Benitez. He not only saw off City and Chelsea but also got the nod to compete for big-name players despite the club's financial plight.
Yet he will still have to off-load some stars to make further top-class signings. Javier Mascherano, Xabi Alonso, Alvaro Arbeloa and Andrea Dossena are all potential high-profile departures.
Benitez has been watching Johnson for the past six months and made initial tentative inquiries in the January window.
Pompey thought they had won the battle to keep him when he signed a new four-year deal. But he always insisted he wanted to prove himself at the highest level again, after only 41 appearances in his Chelsea career.
Johnson has also just enjoyed his most impressive season, capped by a star man role in the World Cup drubbing of Andorra.
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WTF?!?!?! 100k per week for this guy? You must be nuts, Even Evra or Vidic does'nt get as much as that
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Ah Ben trying to singlehandedly bankrupt Liverpool izzit?
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He must thank City for his $100k a week salary lor... Cos now, not only is he overpriced and overrated... I guess he is also overpaid... lol
And to think United's Rafael is like on $3000 or something a week... and cost don't know got $1m also or not...
But if mega rich City offer $80k which match Pool's original offer, then why did Rafa need to bring it up to $100k per week?
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Yeah, that's too much liao...
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i very disappointed with this signing
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this
is
so
re
tar
ded
COME ON LA! 100k.. he also no ashley cole or bosingwa..