Flop of the Kops: The Italian's spell on Merseyside
was a complete disaster
Kenny Dalglish is in danger of
being saddled with a midfielder he does not want after Juventus
told Alberto Aquilani that they will not be taking up the option to
sign him on a permanent basis.
On the day the Liverpool manager wrapped up the
£20million acquisition of Sunderland's England Under 21 midfielder
Jordan Henderson, Juventus finally confirmed that new coach Antonio
Conte had won the battle of wills over on-loan Aquilani's
future.
While Juve's board had given Aquilani assurances
that they would be keeping him beyond his 12-month temporary stay,
Conte insisted, after being recruited to replace the sacked Luigi
Del Neri, that Liverpool's £17million signing from Roma had no
place in his plans.
A bitterly unhappy Aquilani is now pinning his
Serie A hopes on AC Milan following up their interest in him and
agreeing a fee with Liverpool and personal terms with the 26-year
old.
Worryingly for Dalglish, Inter Milan are the only
other realistic candidates for his signature. Unless either of the
San Siro clubs come to the rescue, Aquilani will return to Anfield,
despite his wife and young daughter wanting to stay in
Italy.
Dalglish would then face the task of trying to
coax the best out of a player who has slipped further down the
pecking order, after Henderson's arrival, and is seething at his
treatment by Juventus.
He claims a deal was in place in January, after
an £8million fee was agreed between the clubs, and that Juve have
gone back on their word.
Milan are his best hope of salvaging a full-time
move back to Serie A, after they lost Andrea Pirlo to Juventus, but
Liverpool may have to take an even bigger financial hit than the
one negotiated with the Turin club.
No deal: Alberto Aquilani will not be joining Juventus
on a permanent deal