26 Jul 2012

Confirmed: LFC 'in contact' with Bilbao over deal for £26m star. Good news?

With the future of Martin Skrtel still up in the air, it seems that Liverpool are pressing ahead with identifying possible replacements, and according to one renowned Spanish newspaper, the club is currently negotiating a deal with Athletic Bilbao for Venezuelan defender Fernando Amorebieta.

The report today in Madrid-based newspaper Marca states that Liverpool 'are serious' about signing the 6'4 defender, and confirms that 'contact has taken place'. The report continues:

"Liverpool is one of the clubs that is most interested in Amorebieta, and Brendan Rodgers is certain that Amorebieta would be an ideal fit for his system.

"They [Liverpool] have contacted Bilbao to learn first hand about Amorebieta's contract situation, his willingness to a change clubs, and his enthusiasm for playing at Anfield.


Amorebieta's contract expires in June 2013, so Bilbao have a straight choice at this stage: give him a new deal now or risk losing him for free next year.

The Venezuelan has a £26m release clause in his contract, but given there's only a year left on his deal, this puts the player - and interested clubs - in a stronger bargaining position, and according to Marca, the price is definitely 'negotiable'.

Liverpool were linked with Amorebieta during Rafa Benitez's reign, and at the time Bilbao president Fernando Macua made it clear that the Venezuelan international was not for sale:

"This player is not for sale and we have received no contact from Liverpool. At this moment he is a key member of our squad and we have no interest in letting him go"

Given his contract situation, and the state of the current market, there's no way that Amorebieta would command a 26m fee, and I doubt Bilbao would be unrealistic enough to hold out for that amount.

Jaimie Kanwar


36 comments:

  1. Id be more concerned about the left back spot and maybe Right forward

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  2. ....................... seriously thought it would be lorent'e...

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  3. I think Skrtel will stay. I personally believe he's saying all these things because he wants an improved contract. If I'm wrong and he does leave I would like Coates to be given a chance. Wisdom and Sama also look like good prospects to me and if neither are given an opportunity at some point we will lose them.

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  4. Good player-nowhere worth £26M. Hope we don't bid for him for that amount. Better have a look at Zapata from relegated Villareal...and Rossi too!

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  5. What about Christian Zapata ? He might be available for a fraction of the price quoted for Bilbao defender.

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  6. How is BR certain that Amorebieta is an ideal fit into his system ? :O

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  7. zapata played really poorly last season ... 

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  8. I thought Bilbao's weakness was their poor defence. There are only 2 bilbao players i will like to be bought, Javi Martinez and Iker Muniain. There is another good player at Bilbao, Fernando Llorente but given that his style is same as Andy Carroll and that he will be available at 20m+. I see its not worthwhile to buy Llorente. Apart from that, buying any other bilbao player looks a poor business to me.

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  9. Why is everything you see in a newspaper then written as 'confirmed' sensationalism at its worst. You take a tabloid article as fact then write a whole piece about it. You have linked us to hundreds of players all which turn out to be rubbish.

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  10. hi jamie,itseems ramirez agent is in london and is negotiating with a premier club...any news n it????????????

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  11. It's Spurs. Everyone involved with LFC is in the US right now.

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  12. so amorebieta is skrtel's replacement? if you ask me thats a bad piece of business on liverpool's part, 26m asking price to! outrageous!

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  13. Yeah i have just read the unknown club is actually us! any news on this anyone?

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  14. Martinez, a player you like, was part of that so-called 'poor defence' for a lot of games!  But jesting aside, Martinez is quality though. 

    To be fair on Llorente, his game isn't as one-dimensional as Carroll, as the Spaniard has a really good touch and is very good on the deck for a target man as his link up play is good and fitted seamlessly into Bielsa's style of play, which is no easy feat for a big target man. Generally, he is hell of a lot more clever with his movement. Though I wouldn't say buy him, as I don't think we would splash that amount of money for a player of his age.

    I wouldn't go as far as saying any other player is poor business. I think Herrera is a brilliant young player, apart from Barcelona, he is as good as anyone in La Liga in terms of technical ability, in my view. Reckon he will be a big name in a few years down the line. De Marcos and Susaeta are pretty good too, De Marcos would be a good fit here. On the wrong side of 30, so wouldn't say buy him but pity that he was injured for Euro 2012, as he was probably the best Spanish right back last season. Its not a easy system for a defence with the way the midfield leaves a lot of space when pressing up but yep, they did have their problems back there.

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  15. Hmmm! That makes sense. No wonder he is still available there.

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  16. arent Spurs also in the US of A?!
    Ian Ayre isnt with LFC

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  17. I got interested when it said Bilbao because they have 4 great attackers- llorente/muniain/ susaeta/ Herrera. Considering we need technically proficient attackers to make this 4-3-3 work properly I was hoping we were after Herrera for central mid and/or muniain for a pacey, skilful forward......... Coates can replace skrtel. More pressing issue is attack. We were ok defensively. Always have been. It's attack we struggle consistently with.

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  18. Good point. Maybe the London meeting is misdirection to throw off the press.

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  19. if your writting about it, it's bound to be lies

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  20. amorebieta isnt even that good, let alone able to replace skrtel. id have a lot more faith in coates to be honest who i really like. i seriously wouldnt rate amorebieta at any more than 6-8 million and thats with a longer contract. plus he is overly aggressive and positionally terrible, and im pretty sure his bad disciplinary record is beaten only by the likes of sergio ramos in recent years. no, no, no! get san jose back if necessary but not this guy. 

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  21. i hope br spends the money on ramirez instead of allen..

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  22.  lorente is different to carroll he has great dribbling touch and movement carroll relies on strength and power while lorente relies on technique hes more similar to berbatov than carroll

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  23. liverpool need a couple of ladyboys from the phillipines, they`ll distract the opposition and we`ll be able to score

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  24. Did you watch him play today?, I have always had my doubt, we are not after the lad, could be others Spuds, City, Chelsea etc, he was seemingly lazy at times to a point of walking along, when his team was under attack, Lodeiro is good but he is moving to Brazil after the games.

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  25. My thoughts are that he is after a new contract due to his only better season and being P.O.Y., having realised that you have to keep any issues inhouse at LFC, he has since gone quite, as BR stated that any player who is not happy, will be sold, period.

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  26. hahahha lolz dude

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  27. Once again, an extremely misleading title to get people onto your site. Someone said they were thinking it was Llorente, I was thinking Muniain, but for you to put that misleading and totally ambiguous title is what you seem to do all the time. As for the confirmed bit, it's hardly confirmation, the player, his agent, Bilbao or Liverpool have not come out and stated that anything is going on, a newspaper has, this is not confirmation, but merely speculation

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  28. Rossi may well be finished, unfortunately.

    Not sure Zapata will fit Rodger's system.

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  29. I like the look of Amorebieta. Fancied him during Rafa's time too. Always a bit of a gamble whether or not players from abroad, especially big fellas, can adapt to the Prem.

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  30. MonkeysAndPirates8:09 am, July 27, 2012

    Jamie, you and I have a wildly different understanding of the meaning of the word 'confirmed'.

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  31. lol as if LFC will pay 26 million for a CB. god almighty. We won't pay that for a striker 

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  32. £26m?????? He's an absolute nut job and not even that good!!!

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  33. i was hoping Llorente lol

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  34. We're not in talks for him AT ALL. Terrible stuff JK.

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  35.  Yeah what the hell has happened to Enrique? hes been seriously off the pace at the end of the season and in the friendlies

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