After a promising pre-season, many Liverpool fans were confused by Kenny Dalglish's decision to allow Alberto Aquilani to go out on loan to AC Milan. The injury-prone midfielder was expected to secure a permanent deal at the end of this season, but now it appears that he could be on his way back to Anfield.
Yesterday, Aquilani's Agent, Franco Zavaglia, admitted that his client's future in Italy is far from certain. He said:
"I do not know if Milan wants to take up the option to make the deal permanent, we'll have to wait and see.
"He has recovered from injury and is back at the disposal of the coach"
Aquilani is a mere four appearances away from triggering a mandatory contract clause, which would require Milan to fork out £5m to make the deal permanent. Comparatively speaking, 5m is paltry amount of money for a top class midfielder, so why are Milan equivocating over the deal? The answer could lie in Aquilani's negligible creative return:
* No goals and only 1 assist in his last 19 appearances for Milan
* Only one goal in 28 appearances all season.
* Out injured for almost three months between December and March.
Overall, Aquilani has 8 assists in all competitions, but with no goals or assists for 5 months now, and continued injury problems, Milan's apparent reluctance to retain Aquilani is definitely understandable.
Aquilani's return to Anfield would undoubtedly boost the quality of Liverpool's squad, but it's doubtful that the Italian would be happy about it, especially since he's made it clear many times that he and his family prefer to play in Italy.
Would you be happy if Aquilani returned?
Jaimie Kanwar
Yesterday, Aquilani's Agent, Franco Zavaglia, admitted that his client's future in Italy is far from certain. He said:
"I do not know if Milan wants to take up the option to make the deal permanent, we'll have to wait and see.
"He has recovered from injury and is back at the disposal of the coach"
Aquilani is a mere four appearances away from triggering a mandatory contract clause, which would require Milan to fork out £5m to make the deal permanent. Comparatively speaking, 5m is paltry amount of money for a top class midfielder, so why are Milan equivocating over the deal? The answer could lie in Aquilani's negligible creative return:
* No goals and only 1 assist in his last 19 appearances for Milan
* Only one goal in 28 appearances all season.
* Out injured for almost three months between December and March.
Overall, Aquilani has 8 assists in all competitions, but with no goals or assists for 5 months now, and continued injury problems, Milan's apparent reluctance to retain Aquilani is definitely understandable.
Aquilani's return to Anfield would undoubtedly boost the quality of Liverpool's squad, but it's doubtful that the Italian would be happy about it, especially since he's made it clear many times that he and his family prefer to play in Italy.
Would you be happy if Aquilani returned?
Jaimie Kanwar
If he does come back what are the chances that he can help Liverpool if he no perform well in AC and KK prefer Henderson and most probably he will on sub.
ReplyDeleteBetter stats than Downing, who played all season
ReplyDeleteHeard he put on weight and wasn't interested in training. Perhaps that's why no one wants him, in which case he's a bit of a liability.
ReplyDeletePato, Boateng, Nesta, etc.. missed several games too. No complaints about that. Last year at Juve, he was not injured. The san Siro outfit has many injured players this season. Unbelievable!
ReplyDeleteHe gets paid to play so who cares if he likes it?, we need his quality as this season has shown. These Italian clubs are the cheapest of the cheap, no class at all, do they want him for free?????. KK should keep him and that's that!!!!!
ReplyDeletehe has ability but whether he wants to paly for us is debatable and also it would seem kenny doesn't fancy him.he was one of our better players in pre season but then went out on loan.
ReplyDeleteAqua is a classy and skillful player. compared to the current rubbish midfield in the Red shirt. He should have never been loaned out. He would have made a superb link for Suarez. They both operate in a similar manner. unpredictable and unconventional. I say perfect match.
ReplyDeleteIf i was KK i would bring him back and have a meeting with him and his family, tell them, it is not LFC fault that he is not wanted (by AC Milan) but tell him that we will give him the chance to prove to the rest of the world that he is good enough. Then give him the first half of the season to showcase what his worth. I believe their are players who do not perform and blame clubs for not being transferred to where they want to really be, so prove yourself and the clubs will want you.
ReplyDeleteRafa was mad to sign the injury prone player and Downing should never be considered for England again - He is PATHETIC - no goals or assists - my grandmother would be ashamed of his record and hopefully it costs Kenny his job before we hear any more of his EXCUSES
ReplyDeletebring him back.. he would give us a great option.. bench & first team.. compared to our current team, Aquaman has got potential to b world class.. unfortunate hes been hindered by injuries and moving to various teams without the chance to plant his feet in the ground at one place.. he was class at Roma, that why we paid big bucks for him.. he needs to bulk up a little, add more speed to his game.. imagine the flair of Aqualani and power of Gerrard behind the magician Suarez..
ReplyDeleteHe had 2 goals and 6 assists when he came back from injury at the end of 2010 season but when Roy Hodgson came he loaned him to Juve. While he was the best player in the pre-season in 2011 KK loaned him to Milan...bloody stupid and racist British managers!!!!
ReplyDeleteStevie G is injury prone now but no one is saying he is a liability!!!
ReplyDeleteStevie G is injury prone now but no one is saying he is a liability!!!
ReplyDelete...surprised we loaned him this season.. he was one of the shining players in Pre-season..
ReplyDeletesometimes players dont fit the preferred tactic model..
Next season team with Aqua:
-------------------------------Riena----------------------------------
-Johnson-----------Skrtel---------------Agger-----------------Enrique-
------------------------------Lucas-------------------------------------------------Gerrard---------------------Aqualani-------------------
Suarez-----------------------Carroll-----------------------Not Downing
just going to say 1 thing you have more time on the ball in serie a than bpl and he still cant manage a goal
ReplyDeleteHe should come back. I think most fans would give him a chance because he never got it for Liverpool. There's no point on judging him on his Juventus days or his AC Milan days because it can be a totally different story in the Red Shirt. You only have to look at Downing and Villa to understand that players don't fit at certain clubs. But Aquilani showed a lot of glimpses in his appearances for Liverpool, he warrants a chance IMO.
ReplyDeleteAhh Jamie, how you do make me laugh in disbelief. Aquilani has 8 assists and only 1 goal in 28 appearances, where Adam has 6 assists and 2 goals in 23 appearances, and also be responsible for a couple of deflected goals. Yet, Aquilani, you still describe as quality, whereas Adam is rubbish? Yes, maybe the truth DOES lie in the stats, as you say.
ReplyDeleteSomething makes me think you have something against British players.
I think you've misquoted someone somewhere. All i've ever read on here is Jaimie saying that Adam was a lower cost signing and his fee was justified as he has created more than all the other attacking signings that we made.
ReplyDeleteNot sure Milan were ever serious about buying him outright, to be honest. But he came on against Milan, so they must rate him to some extent.
Aquilani might not want to come back to England, but I'm sure he would get used to the idea once it became clear that no one else was offering anything. The idea of him going out on loan for a third season is surely a non starter and I reckon the style of play over here would make it easier for him to create chance. I doubt, very much, that many teams would pick Charlie Adam over him, in any case. My worry about him is that he looks lightweight at times, could he be our equivalent to Silva or Mata? We've already got him, so if we could not find a playmaker, why not him? His injury record is laughable, though.
He doesn't want to play for LFC. We need players who want to wear the Shirt not ones who are at the club by default.
ReplyDeleteGet rid of him permanently.
Watched all our pre-season games that the club channel showed, and he was head and shoulders above all the other players. He looked like he had a point to prove, maybe to entice potential suitors, or impress Dalglish. But its glaringly obvious we have missed a player of his creativity in midfield. If the club decides to keep him, then management need to sit down with him and tell him how it is. No more loaning out running his contract down. He has to play if he is to remain under contract.
ReplyDeleteApart from he has shown no desire to remain at Liverpool and wear that red shirt you talk about. He doesn't want to play for us so i don't want him back.
ReplyDeleteI can't prove it but I swear I have seen some Adam bashing going on, though if it was just about his tackling, it was probably warranted.
ReplyDeleteI DO think that he's a good player, and would like to see him back because as you said, he's a more Spanish player in the way he plays, as he's technically very good.
As he's injury prone, I would prefer him to play a part role, rather than start every game, unless of course, he could overcome them.
As a side note, this team will come good next season. Watch it happen people :)
After Juves back flip i thought he would be kept or sold i say no more loans to Italian clubs they are desperate and broke.
ReplyDeleteI get the feeling Aquilani is the only player who cannot be sold and with his injury record and reluctance to be at Anfield i dont want him back sell him to a russian side that will make him happy.
Nonsesnse, I'm not JK's favourite fan, but it was patently obvious during last pre-season's match in Norway and in other tour games that Aquilani was a significantly better player than Adam. We were losing that Valarenga game until he came on with 15 mins to go but AA transformed our attacking play. Just watch it on Youtube.
ReplyDeleteAdam doesn't have a pass and move game, unlike AA. Adam is more like shuffle and hoof.
Wow, ok, yeah, I forgot his world beating performance against Valarenga, the top class side they are.
ReplyDeleteI never said he's no good, I was pointing out that with a return like that, it's ludicrous for JK to suggest he would be added 'quality' to our side.
If as seems likely the King will be politely told to step aside into an ambassadorial role at the end of the season,then I think Rafa would definitely bring Aquillani back.Rafa plays football how it should be played and Aquillani definitely fits the bill.The King in believing he is some kind of messiah has gotten rid of all our skillful creative midfielders,Cole,Aquillani,Meireles and replaced them with one dimensional predictable mediocrity,wasting all the money he was gifted in the process.I think the saint like status the King recieves from the fans has gone to his head and he actually believed everything he touched would turn to gold.
ReplyDeleteAqua Man record :
ReplyDelete1 goal 6 assists in 824 playing minutes in EPL 09/10 ( goal
or assist every 117 minutes including four or so MOTM ) .
2 goals and 6 assists in 2670 playing minutes with Juve
10/11 in Serie A( goal or assist every
333 minutes).
1 goal 6 assists in 1286 playing minutes with Milan 09/10 in Serie A ( goal or assist every 183 minutes)
.
We are not exactly dripping quality and our last year
signings have no competition . I will take him back in a heartbeat .
No disrespect but Italian teams will always look for free
meals – bosman or loan players. Tevez collapsed deal with AC Milan was the same
– Mancini knew the trick , now AC Milan confirmed that they are not looking to
signing him this summer !!
If manager has no plans to use the player in the team then what is the player supposed to do?
ReplyDeleteThe man only started 9/10 league games for us, so I think that is too short a time for people to get all lovey dovey over his LFC career, in my view.
ReplyDeleteApart from the loan season at Juve, he has never started 30 league games or more in a season. Only twice has he mustered up 20 or more league starts in a season. So there are question marks over him, for me, big ones.
Juve didn't exercise the right to buy him and it seems Milan don't want to either. They are rumoured to be bringing in Montolivo on a free transfer in the summer, who plays somewhat deeper than Aquilani and is not as injury prone as Aquilani that is for sure.
Considering the mediocre state of our midfield, despite my conservative view on his brief showing in a LFC shirt, I would have him back in the squad. Especially if the club is reluctant to spend on midfield in the summer, which is understandable after the money spent on Downing and Hendo.
Hasn't been that good for Milan but he was solid for Juve last season, even though I preferred Marchisio (Vidal is quality this season though!).
He has got plenty to prove, Aquilani, in terms of fitness reliability, etc, but considering his stock is decreasing yet again and 'potential', might as well keep him and see how he does. But like the lad told Comolli, he wanted to go back to Italy, so does he even want to come back
'Net Spend' crew will be worried about the depreciation on Aquilani that is for sure!
Aquilani wanted to go back to Italy. Well that was the PR on it by Comolli anyway.
ReplyDeleteIt will be adding quality to the side aquaman is much more versatile and skilful and won't go hiding in big games like adam tends to do apparently his corners alone are worth 10 mill not even £10 if you ask me he made more mistakes in midfield where he has always failed to track back
ReplyDeleteIf you look up Comolli's interview about Aquilani's loan, he made it pretty clear that he had no problems playing for us and the only reason he was sent away was because Kenny didn't want him.
ReplyDeleteYou've got to bare in mind that he has played much deeper for Milan (in what is his natural role) than he did at Liverpool. Until his final season, Alonso's assist record belied his quality because of his deep position and I know that early on for Milan (haven't tracked him much beyond the first 10 games or so) that was the case with Aqua.
ReplyDeleteHe is the type of player Liverpool need and if his injury problems are behind him (or have receded sufficiently, as they appear to have over the past 2 seasons) he is worth the risk because even if he doesn't adapt, we wont lose much by selling him the year after if he flops. £5mil is a pittance for him. If we lose him for nothing, I think it is worth the risk of bringing him back and giving him a full season.
I think the big concern is the wage he is on.
Let's be honest here! Over the kast two years he gas played for Juve and Milan who are 1 and 2 in the league, Liverpool are struggling to make the top 8...
ReplyDeleteAre you series?
Do you not understand that we just don't gave a player that can link up with the likes of Suarez!
Are you another one eyed Brit who also thinks we should just stick with British players!
Carroll 35 and rubbish
Downing 20 and rubbish
Henderson 16 and rubbish!
Where is the creativeness amongst these players?
ffs people, taking his pre-season form as something to go, i remember bruno cheuyro playing amazing on the left vs lazio in pre-season, the rest is history.......
ReplyDeletefuck him out the door for free and move on , i think he is quality but i would rather morales back tbh.....
A bit unfair. Now, 'plod and hoof'....
ReplyDeleteSo he has contributed very little to Milan and yet you claim he will "boost the quality of the squad". Why? How? He gets injured all the time. He would have to be one of the most overrated players ever signed by Liverpool. Just sell him at whatever price we can get for him. Even a set of steak knives.
ReplyDeleteIt doesn't look like he wants to play for us anyhow....and even if he did it would take some time before i was convinced he could hack a maintained run of games if the EPL without another injury set back...
ReplyDeleteAtm we have Gerrard who has also had injury set backs.....so IMO we should look elsewhere for a creative midfielder in the summer, someone younger perhaps who could handle the physicality and rigours of the prem .
In a word YES,Thought he had a really good pre-season just need's to be given a few games, who know's the younger guy's like Hendo and Shelvey might just feed off his creative flair as they are player's for a couple of season's ahead. If he is willing to come back and is given good pitch-time then use him!,other than that a good striker who can put the ball in the back of the net,dosn't have to cost a lot,but proven and someone who can keep it out at the other end, maybe Vorm or krul???
ReplyDeleteCan you not see beyond bloody Rafa? KD may not be the answer but we do not look back at RB... I think you have forgotten his many 'errors'.
ReplyDeleteI was led to believe he had already played the 25 games that triggered the clause..
ReplyDelete''Alberto Aquilani made his 25th appearance of the season for AC Milan on
the weekend, coming on as an 85th minute substitute against Roma. (16th March)
Aquilani's agent Franco Zavaglia told the Milan News website: "As it
was agreed, a permanent deal will automatically be struck once he makes
25 appearances."I do not think that Milan will pass up on
Aquilani. There is no problem about this, a permanent deal is something
we all expect." (26th march)
He's singing a different tune now !! There are rummors that Milan are saying substitute apperances only count for 'half games' ?? Perhaps you could clarify Jaimie thanks...
Either way the sorry situation and needs to be dealt with once and for all. It appears now Milan may be doing exactly what Juve done last year.. taking the p##s !!
Athough we're hardly doing ourselfs any favous..A 20 million pound player(whether you believe he's worth a fraction of that or not) out on loan two seasons in a row .. whilst I assume still paying a percentage of his wage (i'm open to correction?) makes no footballing or business sense what so ever !!
We appear to be as generous in the transfer market as we have at home all season...
the only reason milan dont want him is coz they already secured montolivo for free, he is very similar player to aquilani from fiorentina. the deal was in the pipeline for a long time but now there is finally an agreement....bye bye aquilani..... FORZA MILAN!!!!
ReplyDeleteA midfield trio of Lucas, Shelvey and Aquilani is an exciting prospect, with Lucas winning the ball, Shelvey moving the play and Aquilani orchestrating our forwards. Aquilani would be awesome feeding the likes of Carroll and Henderson who rely heavily on being played into space and can't really do it themselves. Aquilani's play would perhaps make it even easier for Suarez.
ReplyDeleteIf we think Silva, Cleverley, Mata and Modric are doing fantastic jobs for their clubs, Aquilani is also a player with such intelligence and could make the difference between our forwards having limited spaces to shoot and having clear shots at goal. I'd take him back in a heartbeat!
Aquilani 20 and rubbish
ReplyDeleteI'm not British either
Another of Benitez's blunder buy !
ReplyDeleteAquilani is crap...just let him go. He's rubbish and injury prone. It's clear as daylight that it's one of Rafa's worst buy. He could never replace Alonso with Aquilani. For those who still think we should have kept him, that he's better than our lot, just think who WOULD NOT sign a supposedly classy midfielder for $5M? Stop dreaming he will come good one day (Rafa, Hodgson, Dalgish, Allegri never rated him, they can't be all wrong). We should just take loss on him and move on. Thanks Milan for picking up his wage bill while out on loan.
ReplyDeleteThe reason being Hoy sent him out on loan, KD did the same becoz Commolli asked who he has to send out coz he signed Hendo, Aquaman is a class above all even Gerro said it out loud . Aqua is class! Hendo is space ages away from being a Red player, we may blame Charley Adam but I think KD played him out of position
ReplyDeleteAquilani is better than Charlie Adam and by far more creative than Henderson; and yes, I am British.
ReplyDeleteWhat is his current form like?
ReplyDeleteYou hit the nail on the head, Comolli wanted him out and Aquaman said well let me go back to Italy, KD was stupid to let him go, this player is a BOX-TO-BOX midfielder who could easily replace Gerro
ReplyDeleteWhat world do you live in?
ReplyDeletesorry whatis the bpl
ReplyDeleteAh ok. Just read another Comolli interview then or a report only highlighting that bit in a certain way;)
ReplyDeleteFound another one where Comolli explains that basically he wasn't going to get many chances to play as Stevie G is first choice in the position that KK and his staff thought was ideal for Aquilani.
what an insult to aquilani,putting his name in the same sentence as ad*m. even if aquilani was told he couldn't play again due to injury,he would still be more of an asset than that fat ,useless, b*stard.
ReplyDeletei blame ad*m because he is sh*t,end of story. kd needs his a*se kicked for that signing. as i have said before,a rangers reject,who only blackpool were interested in. a 500k player with a 'mythical' left foot,so mythical it really does not exist. get rid of him asap.
ReplyDeleteeven if aquilani is not the answer, we will find someone who is. as long as it is NOT, repeat NOT, c*****e 'dogsh*it' a**m. kd went and collected him,i will pick him up and drop him off anywhere away from merseyside.
ReplyDeleteThe reasons why AC don't want him are, he's lazy in training, overweight, always injured (partly due to his lack of fitness as a result of being lazy in training) and lastly he is very average. The reasons we don't want him are the same as stated above coupled with his desire not to be here. If he doesn't appreciate how lucky he is to wear the shirt then I don't want him. I would just release him and be done with it.
ReplyDeletei disagree, i don`t rate him. ask yourself for 5 mil no one wants him. says it all
ReplyDeletelook guys. He is not a defensive midfield player, very poor defensively. Does not score enough goals to be an attacking midfield player. He is just a skillful link up man.
ReplyDeleteKenny said it himself - Aquaman wanted to play for us, Kenny prefered his golden boys :
ReplyDeletehttp://uk.eurosport.yahoo.com/26082011/63/dalglish-bids-aquilani-farewell.html
I'm italian and I can tell you that he's not good enough.
ReplyDeleteI was shocked when we bought him for £18-20m, his value is £4-5m.
Is he better than Adam?
I don't know but Spearing is better than him, and Jay in my opinion should be our sixth-seventh choice as midfield player.
It's not because he can't play (tho being injured does mean that) it's because of his wages + injuries that no one wants him
ReplyDeleteThis would be obvious for anyone who has closely watched this guy. Check out his career stats. Poor assists and goals all his career. I would still have adams any day of the week over him. At least with adams you would get more assist and goals overall. He would only be able toplay in the europa cup for us were the game would be slow, maybe with spearing.
ReplyDeleteSpearing is too short, has slow and covers less of the field than Lucas. Watch the way he has to dive to get his ball. i say he should play carling cup or easy F.A. cups. I do like him but i would have Henderson anyday playing that role instead of spearing. Excellent positioning and doesnt need to do much creatively as well as very good work engine.
for 5 mi ? you got to be kidding? come on think about it? it doesnt make sense.
ReplyDeletejudge a player for one season. does that mean torress is crap?
ReplyDeletesurely u judge over 3 or 4 seasons to make a better assessment?
Time will tell. let's give it till the end of the season.
ReplyDeleteKenny mistakes - sale of Mereiles and loaning of Joe Cole and Aqua.
ReplyDeleteWe desperately need a playmaker - Hazard???, right winger - Pedro???, few midfielders like Martines from Bilbao and Tiote from Newcastle, another centre back for Carragher(retirement) - may be Kjaer, another left back - Baines and another two forwards - why not Luuk de Jong and Sterling from Chelsea and a stopper - Al Habib(if Wigan relegated). Sell - Kuyt, Maxi, Bellamy, Adam, Doni, Brad Jones, Glen Jones(if the amount is more than 12-13 mln. Pounds). It's not impossible to catch some of the above mentioned - of course not all of them..
Waiting for F.A. cup - GOOD LUCK, REDS!!!
Y.W.N.A.
:)
Agree, he would do a good job for us as long as he stays fit but we couldn't rely on him. I think the Premier League, being quite an attacking league, would suit his game and his ability to pick out a decent pass.
ReplyDeletehahahaha A C HAVE DONE THE REDS GOOD STYLE....I support the reds but there financial nous is non existent...i hope cole and all these overpaid players come back and don't leave and bleed the club...its the only way the morons running and managing Liverpool will wise up...its going to take drastic action....kenny is a clown
ReplyDeleteHaHa you are completely deluded ...im sorry man aqua is garbage that's why Ac DON'T WANT HIM FOR 5 MILL....LIVERPOOL ARE GARBAGE ...it has to be said ....there a mid table team in reverse...im genuinely worried that next year we will be struggling in the bottom half...huge squad of crap overpaid players....crowds will drop and revenue will drop.....look at Leeds and forest....
ReplyDeleteit does make sense mate. They wouldn't want him on a Free transfer for what they have to pay him each week.
ReplyDeleteI would rather have Liverpool to be feared in Europe and respected again as the mean, red machine again, rather than having the piss taken out of us by midtable, relegation fodder and not having a clue how to put the ball in the back of the net thank you very much.
ReplyDeleteAqualani was never given a chance to prove his worth and what guarantee is there that he will be given his chance next season by KD. It's KD's fault that he keeps on playing overrated and overpriced players and even dropping players who score goals in the next game but he'll never take that responsibility will he? instead he'll blame luck, the referee ,tiredness and what not ..whether we need a new manager is entirely a different discussion
ReplyDeletethen he cant be that good. Even Russia or PSG dont want him.
ReplyDelete