BENITEZ EYEING MOVE LYON MIDFIELDER
Rafael Benitez is contemplating making Lyon midfielder Florent Malouda his first major signing of the summer.
The France international left-winger is among several players the Liverpool manager is tracking as he prepares to radically overhaul his squad following the Champions League final defeat against AC Milan last Wednesday.
Benitez intimated over the weekend he expects Liverpool to make a major signing by the end of the week.
Malouda, who is available for around £10million, announced earlier this month that he wants to leave Lyon, with the French club’s chairman Jean-Michel Aulas having given the player until June 30 to agree a move to another club.
The 26-year-old was last week named the French league’s player of the year after helping the departed Gerard Houllier’s Lyon to a sixth successive title, contributing eight goals and five assists.
“I want to be sorted quickly. If nothing happens from now on, that would mean that the clubs who have approached me are not really convinced about recruiting me. If that is the case, there is no point in leaving. I don’t want to go wherever. If I leave, it will be under the best circumstances, for me and for Lyon," said Malouda, who is also a target for several other top European clubs.
Malouda has won 28 caps with and scored three goals with France, and was part of the team that finished runners-up in last year’s World Cup, winning the penalty in the final against Italy from which Zinedine Zidane scored.
Ukrainian striker Andriy Voronin, Brazilian midfielder Lucas Leiva and young Argentine Sebastian Leto will already join Liverpool in the close season. And the Anfield outfit yesterday confirmed the arrival of Hungarian teenagers Krisztian Nemeth and Andras Simon from MTK Hungaria. Nemeth, 18, and Simon, 17, appeared for Hungary in last year’s UEFA Under-17 Championships, and will bolster the reserve team squad.
In contrast, Peter Crouch yesterday insisted he was staying put after revealing Benitez has assured him he has a future at Anfield. Newcastle United manager Sam Allardyce is reported to be ready to table a bid for Crouch, who finished the season as Liverpool’s top scorer with 18 goals. But Crouch said: “The manager has told me I’m part of his plans and that’s good enough for me. At a club like Liverpool there’s going to be competition for places, especially as the manager likes to chop and change.”
The France international left-winger is among several players the Liverpool manager is tracking as he prepares to radically overhaul his squad following the Champions League final defeat against AC Milan last Wednesday.
Benitez intimated over the weekend he expects Liverpool to make a major signing by the end of the week.
Malouda, who is available for around £10million, announced earlier this month that he wants to leave Lyon, with the French club’s chairman Jean-Michel Aulas having given the player until June 30 to agree a move to another club.
The 26-year-old was last week named the French league’s player of the year after helping the departed Gerard Houllier’s Lyon to a sixth successive title, contributing eight goals and five assists.
“I want to be sorted quickly. If nothing happens from now on, that would mean that the clubs who have approached me are not really convinced about recruiting me. If that is the case, there is no point in leaving. I don’t want to go wherever. If I leave, it will be under the best circumstances, for me and for Lyon," said Malouda, who is also a target for several other top European clubs.
Malouda has won 28 caps with and scored three goals with France, and was part of the team that finished runners-up in last year’s World Cup, winning the penalty in the final against Italy from which Zinedine Zidane scored.
Ukrainian striker Andriy Voronin, Brazilian midfielder Lucas Leiva and young Argentine Sebastian Leto will already join Liverpool in the close season. And the Anfield outfit yesterday confirmed the arrival of Hungarian teenagers Krisztian Nemeth and Andras Simon from MTK Hungaria. Nemeth, 18, and Simon, 17, appeared for Hungary in last year’s UEFA Under-17 Championships, and will bolster the reserve team squad.
In contrast, Peter Crouch yesterday insisted he was staying put after revealing Benitez has assured him he has a future at Anfield. Newcastle United manager Sam Allardyce is reported to be ready to table a bid for Crouch, who finished the season as Liverpool’s top scorer with 18 goals. But Crouch said: “The manager has told me I’m part of his plans and that’s good enough for me. At a club like Liverpool there’s going to be competition for places, especially as the manager likes to chop and change.”
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