davieG Posted 4 July 2005 Share Posted 4 July 2005 I'm indebted to BabyBear of FoxFanzine for this Scoop of the Day Gerrard 'set to quit Liverpool' - Reports Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez wants Steven Gerrard to stay at the club for life. Gerrard's agent was today reported to have told Sky Sports that talks with Liverpool have 'stalled and are unlikely to be reopened'. He continued, 'we have alerted all a number of clubs to Steven's situation'. Speculation is rife, with Chelsea being the obvious candidates for the 25-year-old Scousers signature, but Real and, of course, Hull City have been mentioned. However, the England midfielder still has two years left on his contract and Benitez is determined to keep him at Anfield. He said: 'I have spoken to Rick Parry. We want Steven Gerrard with us for next season and the rest of his life, but we know what an excellent record Peter Taylor has in the transfer market, so we are naturally concerned. 'If I decide to go after eight years or so, I would like to see him as assistant manager, chief scout, if he wants, or maybe as manager, said Rafa.' He added: 'The main thing is we want him to stay with us and we will try until the end.' In response to concerns about Liverpool's ambitions, Benitez claimed the club had tried to keep Gerrard happy with a recruitment drive. As well as the acquisition of Holland international Boudewijn Zenden, Benitez also confirmed the signing of goalkeeper Jose Reina from Villarreal, Mark Gonzales has signed from Albacete and young right back Antonio Barragan from Sevilla. The affable Rafa said, 'Of course we understand why Steven would want to join a club that has a future England supremo at the helm.' Benitez then mumbled something in Spanish, which a Madrid journalist colleague assures me was 'God help em - he'll take 'em back to Graham Taylors disaster.' He added: 'Three times we started to talk to him about a new deal last season, and he always said we need to wait. 'After we had won the Champions League we spoke about how to best improve the team. 'We have today introduced Bolo Zenden as a Liverpool player but we have also signed Jose Reina, the best goalkeeper in Spain, Mark Gonzales, the best player in Chile and Antonio Barragan. 'We will be signing two or three more players this week.' Liverpool chief executive Rick Parry reiterated Benitez's remarks and flatly denied any wish to sell the player. He told the Liverpool Echo: 'Rafa wants Steven to stay and couldn't have made it any clearer. 'We still hope this situation is repairable. We are completely surprised by the comments this morning, having made it clear since January we wanted to talk to Steven about a new contract. 'For anyone to make an issue of a delay of just a few days makes no sense. When we met on Wednesday, things were fine. 'We have wanted to keep Steven all along. There has never been any suggestion we wanted to sell him. 'Money is not an issue. There are no financial concerns regarding Steven's contract so any suggestion to the contrary is wrong. We do understand that Mr Pearson has offered Steven "the same wages as Junior Lewis" so clearly Steven will want to consider this incredible package seriously.' Peter Taylor wouldn't comment on the news, but said 'I don't comment on this type of news. Its just speculation, but we have offered to buy the new England captain for £102m. We believe that valuation to be on the cheap side, but don't tell that Jez Moxey, coz he'll probably make us pay £132m - which is what we really think he's worth. Talking of England captain's, did you know I made David Beckham captin of England - that was my idea that was!' Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nationwider Posted 4 July 2005 Share Posted 4 July 2005 I've had a sneaky feeling for a while now that Gerrard might end up at Hull. They've got the money to pull off a deal, and with Taylor's England connections, that might just swing the boat for Gerrard. There's a large Scouse quarter in Hull as well. It would make sense if they match Rafa's offer for him to go into coaching/management at the end of his contract. Looking forward to seeing him at the Walkers this year with any luck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
C-man Posted 5 July 2005 Share Posted 5 July 2005 What a midfield combination, Junior Lewis and Steven Gerrard! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Random Burglar Posted 5 July 2005 Share Posted 5 July 2005 Junior will keep him out though!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hitesh Posted 5 July 2005 Share Posted 5 July 2005 Junior will keep him out though!! 131968[/snapback] Definitly with Peter Taylor in charge! No way would he drop his beloved (son maybe? ) . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Random Burglar Posted 5 July 2005 Share Posted 5 July 2005 Love child Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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