Fernando Torres is due to have a medical today after
Liverpool finally reached agreement on a club record transfer that
will cost them a staggering £47million. Despite claims that
Atletico Madrid were holding out for the £27m escape clause in
Torres's contract, the fee for the Spain striker has been set at
around £20m, with Luis Garcia moving in the opposite direction for
£4m.
But with the 23-year old's contract worth £90,000 a week over six
years, Liverpool's overall outlay will be £47m for the high-profile
signing Rafa Benitez demanded in the immediate aftermath of his
side's Champions League Final defeat by AC Milan just over a month
ago. Homegrown crowd favourite Torres was putting together a
farewell message to disgruntled Atletico fans before flying to
Merseyside for a medical and an Anfield press conference that could
take place tomorrow. Now Benitez is closing in on another
significant transfer breakthrough after dramatic developments in
his pursuit of Gabriel Heinze.
The Liverpool manager was wary of strong interest in Heinze from
Real Madrid and Manchester United's reluctance to sell to one of
their main Premiership rivals, but he was told yesterday that the
Argentina defender favoured a move to Anfield. Heinze, who is keen
to remain in the Premiership and is attracted by the prospect of a
regular starting place under Benitez, began the process of winning
United round by sending his agent to Old Trafford yesterday to make
his feelings known.
Liverpool are more than willing to meet an asking price of around
£5m, while Heinze could yet scupper any resistance from United by
buying out the two years left on his contract. It would cost him
£4.5m, but he would then be a free agent and could recoup the sum
in the form of a signing-on fee from Liverpool.
As United came under growing pressure to sanction the first
transfer between the clubs since Phil Chisnall left Old Trafford
for Anfield in 1964, Liverpool were preparing to hand Torres the No
9 shirt vacated by Robbie Fowler after finally winning a battle of
wills over the length of the Spaniard's contract.
Torres, who joined Atletico as an 11-year-old, has been the club's
top scorer for the last five seasons, completing his most
successful campaign in 2003-04 when he struck 19 goals. He was on
target three times for Spain in the 2006 World Cup. Luis Garcia
arrived in Madrid yesterday for a medical on his injured knee prior
to his likely return to Atletico, where he played in 2002-03.
Liverpool will now step up efforts to agree the permanent transfer
of Djibril Cisse to Marseille. They will also attempt to offload
Craig Bellamy to West Ham, Aston Villa, Newcastle or Blackburn,
leaving Peter Crouch, Dirk Kuyt and Andriy Voronin to battle it out
for a place alongside Torres.
Fowler, freed after an 18-month second stint at Anfield, has put
his house in the Wirral on the market but has yet to find a new
club, despite being linked with MLS side New England Revolution,
Sydney FC and Glasgow rivals Rangers and Celtic. "Not everyone can
get a club and I'm in that boat," said the 32-year-old. "My record
speaks for itself, but we will have to wait and see if anything
happens."
