Pepe Reina rewrites to Liverpool

Reina has written an open letter to Liverpool after completing his £2 million move to the German champions.

He wrote:

"Around this time last year, I wrote a letter to say goodbye to Liverpool and the fans after I joined Napoli. Some people asked why I was doing it when I was only going on loan for a season and would be back within twelve months, but the reality was that it was already clear to me that my time at Anfield was over.

"Liverpool had signed Simon Mignolet to be their new number one and I was being allowed to go out on loan so I wanted to take the opportunity to offer my thanks and bid farewell because I knew that I would not be back.

"I suppose this is a bit of an update now that my departure has been confirmed and I want to take the opportunity to thank everyone at Liverpool - and I mean everyone - for everything that they have done for me over years. Last time, some of my words were misinterpreted and taken out of the context in which they were meant but it would never be my intention to leave Liverpool on anything but good terms so hopefully this will put that right once and for all.

"I have been extremely fortunate to spend so many years at what I consider to be one of the greatest clubs in world football. It has been an honour and a privilege. The memories I have of Anfield, my team-mates, the supporters and the people of Liverpool will stay with me forever. I am disappointed that I am leaving but only in the sense that I enjoyed being at the club so much and it is always difficult to say goodbye to something that is special to you. I will always be grateful to have played for Liverpool and my time at the club was always going to come to an end so we move on with no hard feelings.

"All I can do now is look forward to a new adventure at Bayern Munich and being reunited with Pep Guardiola, who was my first captain at Barcelona. Hopefully I will enjoy being with them as much as I enjoyed being with Liverpool and again. I am fortunate to be going from one great club to another. I will return to at Anfield some time soon, though, only next time it will be as a fan rather than a player and I hope that when I do come back Liverpool will be challenging for the biggest trophies like they always should.

"The final thing for me to do is to express my gratitude to everyone who has supported me in any way since I joined Liverpool in 2005 - all of the managers who I have played under, all of the players who I shared a dressing room with, all of the staff who helped me in so many ways and every single one of the fans who gave the team and myself the kind of backing that others can only dream of. I count myself as a Liverpudlian and I will be one for life.

"You'll Never Walk Alone.

"Pepe."

Read more »

Southampton seem like Shoprite to the big guns - Dejan Lovren joins reds #lfc

Dejan Lovren's move from Southampton to Liverpool is on the brink of being finalised, multiple sources have confirmed

The Croatia centre-back has been manager Brendan Rodgers' top defensive target this summer.
Liverpool had considered flying the defender to the United States to join their summer tour, but with the squad transferring from Boston to Chicago over the weekend -- and then moving on quickly to New York and Charlotte -- it has been decided that this was too difficult.
Rodgers has been looking to strengthen a defence that conceded 50 Premier League goals despite finishing in second place last season, and feels that Lovren -- who played in all three of Croatia's matches at the recent World Cup in Brazil -- has the leadership qualities to make Liverpool more solid at the back.

New Southampton boss Ronald Koeman had had initially said he did not intend to sell the player, but he changed his stance after accepting the player's desire to leave.
The 25-year-old had spoken publicly of his desire to move to Anfield, saying in an interview with Croatian newspaper Sportske Novosti earlier this month that his "head is already at Liverpool."
He will become the third player to move from Southampton to Liverpool this summer, following striker Rickie Lambert and midfielder Adam Lallana.
The Reds have already signed Germany under-21 midfielder Emre Can from Bayer Leverkusen and Serbian winger Lazar Markovic from Benfica, and are set to confirm the signings of striker Loic Remy from QPR and midfielder Divock Origi from Lille after both underwent medicals in Boston.
Lovren joined Southampton from Lyon for 8.5 million pounds in June 2013, signing a four-year contract.

Read more »

Liverpool set to take summer spending to £100m with Dejan Lovren, Loic Remy and Divock Origi triple swoop.

Brendan Rodgers has already brought in four new faces this summer and looks set to spend the whole sum received by Luis Suarez's switch to Barcelona

 Liverpool will take their summer spending close to the £100million mark this week by completing a triple swoop for Dejan Lovren, Loic Remy and Divock Origi.
Lovren could sign as early as tomorrow with Southampton finally ready to accept Liverpool's £20million offer for the wantaway Croatian World Cup defender.
Personal terms are not expected to be an issue and Lovren will jet out to the United States this week to meet his new team-mates.
Remy is also close to signing and Liverpool have told QPR they are prepared to activate his £8.5million release clause.
Liverpool are talking to Remy's camp and it is believed he is ready to be reasonable in his wage demands after reportedly wanting as much as £90,000-a-week to sign for the Reds.
Remy, who spent last season on loan at Newcastle, will also fly to the US once he has signed.
Liverpool's long pursuit of Belgium World Cup striker Origi is also nearing conclusion and the teenager will be loaned back to Lille as part of the condition of his £10million deal.
These three will add another £38.5million to Brendan Rodgers' spending, on top of the £59million the Reds boss has already shelled out.
Rodgers is far from finished yet and still wants a left-back and a marquee signing in midfield with the remainder of Luis Suarez's £75million windfall.
Rodgers looks set to miss out on Swansea left-back Ben Davies to Tottenham and is eyeing up a stellar signing, like Arturo Vidal, Paul Pogba or Marco Reus.

Read more »

'Bony is desperate to complete £19m move to Liverpool,' claims Lewis

17/08 LIV 13:30 SOU Preview

16/08 MUN 12:45 SWA Preview

Swansea striker Wilfried Bony is desperate to complete a £19million move to Liverpool, according to Daily Mirror football writer Darren Lewis.
talkSPORT told you last week the Reds had held talks with the Ivory Coast international about a move, despite there being no agreement on a fee between the clubs.
However, since then boss Brendan Rodgers appears to have switched his attentions to bringing in QPR striker Loic Remy, who Liverpool agreed an £8.5m fee for on Saturday.
And Lewis told Saturday Scoreboard: "You know the player I feel sorry for with this? Wilfried Bony, because he is desperate to go to Liverpool.
"He's got a £19m clause in his contract but Liverpool obviously looked at it and thought, 'why would we pay £19m for this guy when we've got a guy [Remy] here for £8.5m?'
Lewis continued: "He scored 14 goals last season, he's adapted to the Premier League and we know he's going to hit the ground running. We don't have to wait for him to find his feet in what is a very fast paced league, so we've got the player we want.
"With [Rickie] Lambert as well, they've got a guy with the right attitude and he's going to come off the bench and score goals. You wouldn't imagine Lambert starting too many games.
"No one player is going to replace Luis Suarez but what Liverpool have done is they've added straight away 20 goals between those two players to their team.
"And that's what they need to replace the goals they're losing with the absence of Luis Suarez."

Read more »

‘He’s fast, strong and loves a tackle. This boy is going places!’ Emre Can impresses on Liverpool debut

Premier League sides’ pre-season campaigns rarely do much to excite fans nowadays.
The pace is lacklustre and there’s often no real desire for the players to perform.
But that wasn’t the case as Liverpool lined up against Preston at the Deepdale Stadium, with the Reds’ £10million summer signing Emre Can giving the Anfield faithful cause for excitement with a rampant performance.
The 20-year-old has arrived on Merseyside with a promising reputation from Bayer Leverkusen and he put midfielder partner Lucas Leiva to shame in the centre of the pitch, the 6ft 7in powerhouse easily outshining the experienced Brazilian.
However, audible groans were heard from the stands as he limped off after only 20 minutes of action with a knock, but his time on the pitch seemed to be enough for supporters to expect great things from the German wunderkind.

Read more »

Loic Remy's Liverpool transfer edging closer as Reds agree £8.5million fee with QPR

The Reds made an approach for the player, who spent last season at Newcastle, on Friday and will pip Arsenal to his services after Tottenham pulled out of the race

 

Anfield-bound: Remy looks set for a Merseyside move this summer

Liverpool have agreed an £8.5million fee for QPR striker Loic Remy.
The 27-year-old striker will become Brendan Rodgers' fifth big-money summer signing following the £75million sale of Luis Suarez to Barcelona - and there will be more to follow.
Remy, 27, has already agreed personal terms on an £80,000-a-week deal and the transfer will go through after Liverpool triggered the release clause in his Rangers contract.
He joins Adam Lallana, Rickie Lambert, Lazer Markovic and Emre Can as Rodgers looks to build on last season's second-placed title challenge and build a squad capable of handling a Champions League campaign.
Remy spent last season on loan at Newcastle following QPR's relegation to the Championship and scored 14 goals.
Liverpool were looking at Swansea's Wilfried Bony as a possible replacement for Suarez.
But they dropped their interest when it became clear that Swansea would want to bank the full £19million release clause in the Ivorian's contract.

Read more »

Picture: New £20m Liverpool signing holding the shirt

We are awaiting confirmation from Liverpool that they have signed Lazar Markovic, but the man himself couldn't wait.
The 20-year-old Serbia international posted a picture on his Facebook page, holding the red shirt of Liverpool having donned Benfica's famous red for the past year.
Markovic has had his medical and will link up with fellow new signings Rickie Lambert, Adam Lallana and Emre Can, though the four players are likely to be joined by more before the end of the transfer window.

Read more »