30 Mar 2013

Top Target: Arsenal plan move for 'outstanding' £15m LFC star. Sell ASAP...?

The 'Pepe Reina' to Arsenal rumours just won't go away, and reports this week suggest that Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger plans to clear the decks in a bid to raise money to sign the Spaniard in the summer.

According to the Daily Mail:

"Arsenal plan to sell Gervinho to Galatasaray for £12m and then make a move for Liverpool keeper Pepe Reina [who] remains their preferred choice"

Arsene Wenger's interest in Reina - described by Reds boss Brendan Rodgers as 'outstanding' at the beginning of March - is long-established:

* The Gunners boss made a £20m bid for Reina back in 2010, as confirmed in the Spaniard's recent autobiography::

"Arsenal offered £20m, a phenomenal amount for a goalkeeper. Part of me felt that I was well within my rights to consider my future. Liverpool rejected it"

* In December, reports suggested that Reina is desperate to leave Liverpool, and would willingly take a pay-cut to achieve a move:

"The Spaniard is believed to be open to a move to Arsenal in the forthcoming window and is even ready to contemplate a drop in his £120,000-a-week Liverpool salary to push the deal through"

* Another report in December claimed that the Gunners had 'already made moves' to bring Reina to Highbury:

"There is up to €75 million from existing cash resources available, and The Gunners are looking to reinforce the goalkeeping...position and have already made moves to bring in some of their top targets, who include...Liverpool goalkeeper Pepe Reina"

* In January, The Guardian and The Independent also claimed that Reina is on the way out, and The Mirror suggested the Gunners could be open to a swap deal:

"Pepe Reina is ready to leave Liverpool. His agent has been...testing the market among clubs who could afford to pay the Spanish keeper’s £100k-a-week wages. The goalkeeper could leave Anfield and Arsenal are the early front-runners".

£15m-rated Reina has repeatedly stated that he's happy to stay at Anfield, but with the Reds linked with lots of goalkeepers over the last six months, the chances of the Spaniard being at Anfield next season are (IMO) slim.

Liverpool legend Mark Lawrenson believes a move to Arsenal would be good for Reina. In February, he told The Mirror:

"Now is the time for him [Arsene Wenger] to be ruthless. People talk about Pepe Reina at Liverpool. If he were available I would go and buy him now".

The fact that one of Liverpool's ex-players is actively encouraging a rival manager to sign one of the club's current players is quite telling, and indirectly highlights Reina's decreasing influence and necessity at Anfield.

Wenger definitely has money to spend, and he confirmed this in a press conference recently:

"Yes, I will be busy [in the transfer market]. I don't feel under pressure to name names because you [the media] find them on your own. We are open to strengthening the team, but the difficulty is to find what strengthens us"

The Reina story keeps popping up, and there's no smoke without fire. It's interesting to note that it's Reina himself who's kept the story active. Several times over the last couple of months he's 'responded' to speculation linking him with a move to Barcelona, and giving the story airtime ensures that it stays public. Deliberate strategy, or just coincidence?

Jaimie Kanwar


14 comments:

  1. please go away and get a life instead of being the most annoying person in the internet

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  2. "There's no smoke without fire" is the most overused cliche on the internet. Look at the stories in the paper everyday and you will see that there is mostly smoke and no fire

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  3. Jaimie Kanwar Cock Sucker10:56 am, March 30, 2013

    You are truly a wanker. Try supporting Liverpool rather than sitting in your room playing Football Manager. Pepe Reina is a Liverpool great. You are an utter prick.

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  4. Yet another Liverpool bashing "article". Your a scratched record Jamie, its no wonder fans don't like you or your shitty site... Always the same shit.

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  5. I think we should sell him. We hav had the best out ov him and spend the money on a good keeper n a decent defender

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  6. The question if Reina is going to (or should) remain with us drew my attention far less than the amount of money quoted and cited in the article. It is just unbelievably disgusting to see players on 120 thousand Pounds per week and clubs playing tens of millions for signing them when there is widespread poverty in so many parts of the world. Just a general thought provoked by the numbers.



    Not sure what to think about Reina's position. Our current situation causes so much apathy that it almost makes me think it is not really going to make much difference if he stays or goes.

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  7. Sold to the highest bidder. Time to let him go. There are many out there for much cheaper. Balance plus add on should be used to buy Erikssen

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  8. It seems that more want out than want in at anfield these days ...if reports are true we will be bedding in half a team for the start of the season when we need to hit the ground running....it doesnt bode well

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  9. FSG seems keen to keep top wage earners to a minimal, thus the offloading of our more senior players with the exception of Gerrard and Suarez. I won't be surprised if we do offload Reina for someone marginally inferior but significantly cheaper. I believe they are keen to offload Skrtel and Downing too for Williams and some cheap or up and coming winger.

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  10. Gervinho to galatasary for 12 million??? if thats true we should offer all our deadwood to them

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  11. Wenger had money available for the last 6 years after they sold there best players.

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  12. Pepe Reina still good player to keep.Just sometimes he is doing a little mistake will reduce the point.But 100% cannot only put on him because foward players also never cannot score the winning goal.LFC must sign 1 more goalkeeper for replacement for Doni no need to ship out reina yet.If good offer are on table,please sold him to the highest bidder.I think much better to sold him to La Liga team like Barcelona and not to Arsenal.It is not good to his face again playing at anothers premier league team.Above 20 milion pound maybe LFC must start consider the offer.

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  13. It's all well and good saying we should replace Reina - but when it comes to GK isn't it better the devil you know? Reina has proved to be a top GK who yes has struggled with form but he's still a good age and who is better out there would we replace him with and for how much? Is he that bad its worth the risk? Look at the problems all the top teams have had with GKs recently - we've gone through so many ourselves in the past, so many promising young GKs failed to make the grade - and every GK we've won trophies with has been blasted for being inconsistent at times..it's not as if he's as shit at his job as Carroll...surely theres more pressing areas to improve on??

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  14. Remember that this is the guy that won 3 golden gloves in his first 3 seasons under Rafa, where in recent years he has been playing in a team that has been struggling and conceding which is not just his fault. The guys smashed loads of our GK records and is still relatively young for a GK...too soon to write him off - plus there are others further up the chain that require culling

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