Signing a new defender was a positive move in the eyes of almost every Liverpool fan. Agger looks set to be out of the first-team picture for a sustained period and Slovakian centre-half Martin Skrtel is out, at least for the moment. This leaves us short at the back and a new centre-back is exactly what we needed at Anfield.
It’s a gap that’s been left by Sami Hyypia after his free transfer to German club Bayern Leverkusen, it’s a gap that’s had a number of names from around the world liked to filling it. The most reported name in the media is Sylvain Distin, the current Portsmouth captain who may be looking for a way out of the club. The price for the Frenchmen and a number of other speculated targets has been simply too high for our football club, a problem with having owners who are unwilling to invest yet demand good performances year in year out.
According to today’s Daily Telegraph 30 year-old West Ham defender Matthew Upson was a big consideration for the Rafael Benitez however the price-tag reported today of £15 million was simply too much, not exactly promising when we’re a team supposedly challenging for the title. However, Empire of the Kop has learned that the fee had been negotiated down to around £10 million which could be paid over a period of 12 months. However our American owners simply aren’t willing to invest that much either, so no deal has or will be made.
So our eventual signing, who should be confirmed soon, is Sotirios Kyrgiakos who is reported to be signing for a fee of around £2 million from Greek club AEK Athens. This further adds to the speculation that Rafael Benitez has been given less than £5 million to spend over the rest of the transfer window when we need to ensure we add stregth in-depth to a squad currently lacking in one or two positions.
It leaves me asking, can anyone really be in support of our American owners now? They’re holding back on us financial, which could have serious negative effects on our title challenge. They’ve lied about the proposed stadium and have constantly back-tracked and let us down at every turn. It’s time for pressure, it’s time to force them out. For the sake of our football club we need to unite against Tom Hicks and George Gillett before it’s too late.
M. Owen
michael@empireofthekop.com