Debate: Which Striker Should Roy Spend His Masch Cash On?
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Liverpool thrown in Lauri Dalla Valle and Alex Kacaniklic to clinch £4m Paul Konchesky from Fulham
Swapping sides: Paul Konchesky (left) joining Fernando Torres (right) at Liverpool
Liverpool threw in two promising youngsters, Lauri Dalla Valle and Alex Kacaniklic, to help clinch the £4million capture of Fulham left back Paul Konchesky.
The teenagers had medicals yesterday at Fulham, who also concluded a £2.25m deal for PSV Eindhoven defender Carlos Salcido.
Dalla Valle, 18, is a promising Finland Under 19 striker and Swede Kacaniklic, 19, is a midfielder.
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Liverpool Complete £10.7m Deal For Porto's Raul Meireles - Report
Liverpool sign Porto midfielder Raul Meireles in a £10.7 million deal to replace Javier Mascherano.
According to the guardian, the deal should be finalised over the weekend subject to a medical which would bring the 27-year-old to Anfield.
The Portuguese international, who impressed during the 2010 World Cup, is said to have agreed personal teams with Liverpool and is set to take over Mascherano's position after the Argentine completed a reported £20 million move to Barcelona.
Meireles has been heavily linked with a possible move to Anfield rivals Manchester United, however the Old Trafford owners have a policy stating a player aged 26 or over should not be bought if they have a substantial price tag.
Porto have been looking to sell Meireles as the midfielder has one year left on his contract and the Portuguese side would rather him not become a free agent. -
HODGSON TO KOP A SECOND COLE
Mereiles and Konchesky to seal moves
COLE: West Ham will sell for £10mROY HODGSON will make a last-ditch attempt to take Carlton Cole to Anfield as he embarks on a late transfer window spending spree.
The Liverpool manager has already committed over half of the money generated by the sale of Javier Mascherano to the signings of Raul Meireles and Paul Konchesky. And his sights have now turned to bringing in top-class striking reinforcements.
Peter Crouch had become his No 1 target but it is now clear that Tottenham boss Harry Redknapp will not part with the England striker.
Kenny Dalglish was despatched to watch PSV forward Ola Toivonen last weeked but there is a feeling that - at the Dutch club's asking price of £13million - the Swede is over-priced.
Toivonen is still on the club's radar but Hodgson will now focus on Cole, who has endured a tough start to his West Ham season.
Hodgson will offer cash plus a couple of players and might even be prepared to do a deal that would take Ryan Babel to Upton Park.
Midfielder Lucas is certainly one that would be available to become a makeweight in any deal.
West Ham have said Cole is not for sale but the News of the World understands they would take a fee of around £10million.
Hodgson could get that sort of money together as he has been given licence to spend the Mascherano fee - in excess of £20m - and a bit more.
But the Liverpool chief would prefer to offer West Ham a player-plus-cash deal for the 26-year-old striker. If that was accepted, Hodgson would have funds to add another player or two to his squad.
As well as a striker to provide much-needed assistance for Fernando Torres, Hodgson believes that he needs another midfielder - especially as they have now reached the demanding group stages of the Europa League.
That is why he did not countenance a possible sale of Dirk Kuyt, even though the Dutch player's agent had clearly been busy with his European contacts.
Liverpool were upset with former Kop boss Rafa Benitez for unsettling Kuyt.
The Spaniard's original Anfield contract - seen by the News of the World - included a specific clause, outlawing him from 'directly or indirectly' soliciting Liverppol players for a six-month period after his departure from the club.
KUYT: Unsettled by RafaAnfield sources suggest the clause remained even after he signed a new deal. Kuyt could still yet leave Anfield. It will not be in this transfer window but Liverpool might be tempted to sell at the right price in January.
A bid in excess of £10m would certainly test their resolve to hold on to the Dutchman.
As Argentine midfielder Mascherano was completing the formalities of his move to Barcelona, Hodgson wasted no time in beginning his late outlay.
After enquiries about Real Madrd midfielder Mahamadou Diarra came to nothing, Hodgson turned to 27-year-old defensive midfielder Meireles, whose arrival from Porto should be rubber-stamped today - along with the £4m signing of Konchesky from Hodgson's former club Fulham.
Indeed, Liverpool have confirmed a fee has been agreed for Meireles with a routine medical set to be completed soon.
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West Ham want £10m from Liverpool for Carlton Cole as Sunderland ponder move
In demand: Carlton Cole (right) is a target for Liverpool and Sunderland
West Ham have rejected Liverpool's opening offer for Carlton Cole but have lined up Brescia target man Andrea Caracciolo as back-up.
Liverpool are willing to offer £7million and have even discussed a straight swap involving Ryan Babel but West Ham want at least £10m straight cash for 26-year-old England striker Cole.
Caracciolo, 28, will be familiar to West Ham fans after he scored against the club for Palermo in the UEFA Cup in 2006. He is 6ft 4in tall and could join on loan if Liverpool improve their offer.
Bayern Munich striker Mario Gomez, 25, will decide on a move to Merseyside this morning.
Sunderland, meanwhile, are also interested in Cole but fear he will choose Liverpool ahead of them.
Chairman Niall Quinn hopes to wrap up an £8m deal for Rennes striker Asamaoh Gyan but Steve Bruce would still like one more addition.
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no want cole can?
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Pool need English, and up to date, they only got 5 and 6 if Konchesky joins them... So they need 2 more to make the 8 quota. If cannot get 8, 7 also can lor... At most, put up 24 men squad instead of 25 lor...
Next time buy Pool jersey, just put the name down as Cole, don't put number... Can work for 2 players... lol.
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Hard-up Hammers drop price for Liverpool, Fulham and Birmingham target Cole
　
　
Hard-up West Ham have dropped their price on England striker Carlton Cole as they look to offload him in a last minute deal.
Liverpool boss Roy Hodgson is keen on Cole while Fulham and Birmingham have also tracked him this summer but West Ham have yet to receive any acceptable offers.
That has prompted West Ham owners David Gold and David Sullivan to lower the price to below £10m in an attempt to push a sale through.
Hammers boss Avram Grant is desperate to strengthen his squad after three straight defeats in the Premier League has left the club in a desperate situation.
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Debate: Which Striker Should Liverpool Boss Roy Hodgson Spend His Mascherano Cash On?
Manager could bolster strike force before transfer window shuts
How should Roy Hodgson Spend His Mascherano cash?With Javier Mascherano swapping Merseyside for Catalonia in a deal worth at least £17.2 million, Liverpool boss Roy Hodgson should finally find himself with a significant amount of money to spend before the transfer window closes on Tuesday.
Liverpool mantain that no money from player sales is used to pay off some of the club's ever-increasing debt, meaning more than a few eyebrows will be raised if Hodgson does not spend a large portion of that cash on adding to his squad before deadline day.
The 63-year-old manager has stated that bringing in a left-back is a priority, with Fulham's £3m-rated Paul Konchesky widely expected to be reunited with his old boss at Anfield in the coming days.
And with Denmark midfielder Christian Poulsen already signed as Mascherano's replacement, Hodgson could look to beef up his striking options where Fernando Torres and the steadily-improving but inconsistent David Ngog, 21, remain the only two senior out-and-out front men in his squad.
Here are five striking options that Liverpool have linked with - and Hodgson could splash some Masch cash on in the coming days...
Carlton Cole, 26
Nationality: English
Club: West Ham United
Likely cost: £7m -£10m
The robust England striker has been made available by West Ham to raise funds for Avram Grant as he seeks to rebuild the squad that flirted with relegation last season. Cole can delight and infuriate in equal measure and opinions on him seem to vary from those who regard him as an under-rated and skillful workhorse who has come on leaps and bounds at West Ham to a 'donkey' who makes Emile Heskey look clinical in front of goal. In any case, Cole would add to Liverpool's growing collection of home grown players.
Artem Milevskiy, 25
Nationality: Ukranian
Club: Dinamo Kiev
Likely cost: £10m - 13m
One the most highly-rated forwards in Eastern Europe. His ability to play off a target man such as Fernando Torres or fill in for the Spaniard could persuade Hodgson to take a punt on the 6ft 3" striker. Scoring around one goal in every three games and notching regular assists the versatile star could be just the type of player Liverpool need to simultaneously remove the goal-scoring burden off Torres and get the best out of him too. Of course Liverpool fans will recall that the last highly-rated Ukranian to arrive on Merseyside - Andriy Voronin.
Bryan Ruiz, 25
Nationality: Costa Rican
Club: FC Twente
Likely cost: £13m-£15m
The Costa-Rican attacker banged in 24 goals last season in the Dutch league as FC Twente won their first title. Ruiz can play in a variety of attacking positions and is left-footed too.
Of course Hodgson has no shortage of wingers who can also play up front (Babel, Kuyt and Jovanovic), and with glamour trips to the San Siro and White Hart Lane in the offing, would Ruiz want to swap a first season of Champions League football for the Europa League?
Ola Toivonen, 24
Nationality: Swedish
Club: PSV Eindhoven
Likely cost: £8m-£10m
The 6ft 4" Swede can play as an attacking midfielder or in his preferred position as a striker. Scoring almost one goal in every two games for PSV, the pacey giant has been reportedly watched by none other than Liverpool Academy director Kenny Dalglish. Though unproven outside of the Swedish and Dutch league, Toivoinen has made the step up to international football with aplomb, and his performance - including a goal in Sweden's 3-0 win over Scotland earlier this month won him plaudits. Hodgson has a good relationship with Toivonen's agent Martin Dahlin, whom he managed at Malmo, so a move could be in the offing.
Ricky van Wolfswinkel, 21
Nationality: Dutch
Club: FC Utrecht
Likely cost: £5m-£7m
The crazy name that is on everybody's lips right now after the young hotshot dumped Celtic out of Europe with a hat-trick this week. Dubbed the next Klaus-Jaan Huntelaar, Van Wolfswinkel won his first cap for the Netherlands in a friendly earlier this month and is regarded as a real prospect. Hodgson may be reluctant to bid for a player who is by no means the finished article but with Liverpool and Utrecht drawing each other in the Europa League, the Reds will get a close look at the wolf man. -
hmmm
try that Ukranian ba
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roque santa cruz
