Pass master: Alonso is the subject of a £20m bid
from Real
Real Madrid have tabled an offer of £20million
for Liverpool
midfielder Xabi Alonso.
President Florentino Perez is determined to press ahead with his
move for the Spain playmaker and sees him as the perfect anchor to
a new-look midfield that could yet contain Chelsea target Kaka.
Perez said: ‘As a fan, I would say that Xabi is a great player.
I think he is the best passer of the ball in Europe. ‘I would be
happy (to have him), but I cannot talk about the player without
having spoken first to Rafa Benitez, as he is the one who needs to
know that we are interested in his player.’
Though Benitez may well be angered by a familiar Real tactic of
going public with their interest in a transfer target, he knows
Alonso’s thoughts are now focused on his next move.
Alonso, 27, is a key figure at Anfield, particularly after they
missed out on Gareth Barry, but has grown concerned with continued
speculation over his future.
He is keen to stay in England but is due to join up with the
national side for the
Confederations Cup in South Africa next week and Spanish sources
say Madrid will try to persuade him that now is the right time to
return to La Liga.
Target: Tuncay
Benitez, meanwhile, is ready to offer Turkey’s Tuncay
the chance to extend his Barclays Premier League stay by bidding
around £5m for the Middlesbrough
striker.
Asked about the possibility of a move to Anfield, Tuncay said:
‘I have heard something about that, but there has been nothing
official so far. Of course, I would like to play for a big
team.’
Benitez, who is also considering an approach for Middlesbrough
midfielder Gary O’Neil as an affordable option for increasing
Liverpool’s attacking threat, has not given up hope of agreeing a
fee for Valencia’s Spain winger David Silva.
