Liverpool will pay record-breaking
£27m for Torres
Liverpool are close to delivering the emphatic statement of
intent demanded by manager Rafael Benitez having agreed a club
record £27m deal with Atletico Madrid for their venerated striker
Fernando Torres. The transfer, expected to comprise around £20m in
cash plus Luis Garcia, has been accepted in principle by Atletico
and is now dependent on the Spanish international declaring an
intent to leave his boyhood club when he returns from holiday on 10
July.
Liverpool officials have been in negotiations all week after being
rebuffed in their preliminary enquiries for the 23-year-old who has
risen through the ranks to captain Atletico, scoring 82 goals in
212 appearances for them, and has been a target for several leading
clubs including Chelsea and Manchester United.
Under pressure to make their first major signing of the summer, not
least from Benitez, the Anfield hierarchy have accepted that
Atletico will not sell Torres for less than the 40m release clause
in his contract. And, while that has been agreed with Atletico
president Enrique Cerezo, the club want Torres to publicly announce
his desire to leave before confirming a departure that will enrage
their supporters.
For Liverpool owners George Gillet and Tom Hicks the capture will
represent a coup in the face of unease at the lack of big name
talent at Anfield. In the wake of the European Cup final defeat in
Athens Benitez delivered a damning indictment of Liverpool's recent
transfer dealings and claimed: "We talk and talk but we never
finish. I am worried about talking to players, for one or two
months or even six months, and then losing them. I want things
done."
Benitez had hoped to use the club's current record signing, £14m
Djibril Cissé, as a makeweight in the deal rather than Garcia, who
he brought to Liverpool from Barcelona for £6m in 2004 and wants to
keep. However, Cissé made it clear in talks with Liverpool chief
executive Rick Parry that he would not join Atletico while Garcia,
who played for them in 2002-03, has warmed to the idea of a return
to Spain.
Liverpool had hoped to use the Cissé fee for other transfer targets
and with around £20m committed on the Torres deal, albeit in
instalments, they will have to raise funds through the sale of
players such as Craig Bellamy to secure Benitez's remaining
objectives for the summer.
Two wingers and a defender will remain on the manager's list once,
as expected, the Atletico forward announces his time at the club is
over. Madrid have lined up Villarreal's Diego Forlan as a
replacement.
Benitez's demand for Liverpool to invest in more potential talent
has also been addressed this week, with the club signing
18-year-old defender Mikel San Jose for £270,000 from Athletic
Bilbao and 19-year-old Bulgarian goalkeeper Nikolay Mihaylov on a
three-year contract from Levski Sofia.
Midfielder Mohamed Sissoko has signed a new four-year deal at
Anfield.
