A couple of months ago, Gianfranco Teotino - Fiorentina's director of communications - made it clear that star striker Stevan Jovetic could leave the Serie A club 'if he wants to', and urged interested clubs to make an offer that 'matches his value'. Jovetic ended up staying with the Viola, but the club's general manager has revealed that the Montenegrin will be allowed to leave in 2013.
Jovetic was close to a Liverpool transfer during Rafa Benitez's reign at Anfield, and since then, the Montenegrin international has been constantly linked with a move to the club. Indeed, in July, respected Italian Newspaper Corriere dello Sport, claimed that Liverpool put in a €22m bid for Jovetic.
The £20m-rated striker decided to stay at Fiorentina, but in a recent interview, general manager Sandro Mencucci indicated that this season could be Jovetic's last. He said:
"Was he close to leaving? There were requests but it was very good of my president to convince him to stay. He will leave, but the club has worked out a deal: Stay another year so we can plan for your departure at the end of the season. They did the same thing with Luca Toni the year before he left."
FSG have tightened the transfer purse strings recently, but as the 15m signing of Joe Allen proves, the group is still willing to splash the cash for the right player, and Jovetic definitely fits the profile.
Liverpool have had a poor start to the season but things can - and will - change, and if the club makes the Champions League places this season, then a move for Jovetic would look a lot more realistic.
Jaimie Kanwar
Jovetic was close to a Liverpool transfer during Rafa Benitez's reign at Anfield, and since then, the Montenegrin international has been constantly linked with a move to the club. Indeed, in July, respected Italian Newspaper Corriere dello Sport, claimed that Liverpool put in a €22m bid for Jovetic.
The £20m-rated striker decided to stay at Fiorentina, but in a recent interview, general manager Sandro Mencucci indicated that this season could be Jovetic's last. He said:
"Was he close to leaving? There were requests but it was very good of my president to convince him to stay. He will leave, but the club has worked out a deal: Stay another year so we can plan for your departure at the end of the season. They did the same thing with Luca Toni the year before he left."
FSG have tightened the transfer purse strings recently, but as the 15m signing of Joe Allen proves, the group is still willing to splash the cash for the right player, and Jovetic definitely fits the profile.
Liverpool have had a poor start to the season but things can - and will - change, and if the club makes the Champions League places this season, then a move for Jovetic would look a lot more realistic.
Jaimie Kanwar
No pass, I want a striker like... Llorente,damieo...
ReplyDeleteHes already bagged 3 league goals this season, which isnt a bad start. Ive always been a fan of him, so wouldnt mind if he came, but I think £20 million is too much, £13-£15 would be a good price, as he hasnt been really prolific.
ReplyDeleteWow, a non-negative article where Kramwar doesn't take a swipe at Suarez/Rafa/Dalglish/Carroll/Henderson/Adam/Downing/etc.
ReplyDeleteSurprising.
Follow me on twatter Jamie!
ReplyDeleteNo not for 20 Million
ReplyDeleteHere we go again. Everyone getting carried away, unless Brendan gets the £17m from West Ham which I doubt very much will happen, (we always get screwed over with loans) for Carroll he wont be getting anyone.
ReplyDeleteBenitez was in a more commanding position as he did have pedigree and could attract the best of players to come to liverpool when he pushed it.
ReplyDeletethe problem at the minute is no one is 100% of the direction liverpool is going. we are all in agreement that BR has the potential to do really well and i hope he brings in a great brand of football but it is hope and faith that guides us as BR will be the first to tell you he has nothing at present to fall back on to say to top players i can guarantee success.
When benitez was after the top players, he had in the bank a CL trophy, this alone is a great barganing chip and it is probaly the reason why hazard went to chelsea and not man city this yr.
If liverpool are to be succesfull they will need to show top players that when they come to liverpool they are going to get not just a good wage but a few trophies. This is why i believe RVP went to Man utd. Although he was in CL every year, he had no medals for yrs. This is the main reason why sometimes coming 4th is not always the best possible outcome. This yr we will be lucky to manage top 4 and i think top 6 will be more respectable, but i do think we maybe able to get a trophy in to ensure we are providing the players with hope that we are going in the right direction.
yea Benitez has done this,Benitez might have done that,cut the crap,that's y lately Benitez is unemployed,& 4 ur kind information there also exists world beyond KK & Benitez.
ReplyDeletei wish benitez would go away, he's like a vulture hovering round anfield waiting for the next manager to fall then pick his bones,embarrasing, leave B.R. to do his job, you've had your time
ReplyDeleteholy_chap thank you for your useless contribution. What does Benitez's employment have to do with the comment of whether he could attract better signings? If you took the time to step out of your bubble and did a comparison to our squad from 2005 with the squad in place today you will ultimately find that our current squad doesn't compete when it in terms of quality on the pitch and in terms of team depth with that from 2005.
ReplyDeleteI am not defending everything that Benitez did, all I am simply saying is that Benitez took a Liverpool squad all the way to the very top of European foot-ball by winning the champions league. Current Liverpool manager who is enjoying a good employment while Benitez is not will not be taking Liverpool to the champions league finals anytime soon. Not in the next two seasons at least. Liverpool can't even conduct a successful transfer window deadline day transaction without attracting negative attention to it's self. This once great team has been in the news for all the wrong reasons lately . The trend started under the Kenny Daglish administration and seems to be continuing under the Brendan Rodgers administration.
Love him or hate him Benitez has done what not many coaches after him would do for Liverpool anytime soon and that is to win the biggest trophy of all the champion's league trophy. That pedigree allowed him to sign Fernando Torres. If Torres were a 23 year old Spaniard today plying his trade with his childhood team Athletico Madrid he wouldn't give Liverpool fc a second look at all.
We have to finish in the top 4 or win a major trophy that anyone outside the UK cares about before we can attract the top players of the world. It is really that simple. A case in point is that Nuri Shahin actually chose Arsenal over Liverpool as his first choice for a team in which to go on loan but ended up playing for us because Madrid wanted him to . Our offer to pay his wages while we took him on loan made the decision to send him to Liverpool even easier for Madrid.
jaimie big if... champions league is so hard to make and with not getting a proven striker it has become even harder
ReplyDeleteagree cannot see the transfer going through if we dont use his potential could become another aquaman
ReplyDeleteso did you read the bit where I back BR. the fact is i do regard Benitez and will always regard him as a good servant for liverpool and so should all others. it was mainly due to that man that FSG have a great academy and the likes of stirling, shelvey,kelly, suso, robinson etc are coming into the first team and out playing the crap that was bought. it was benitez that hired the coaches and redevelopmed the academy.
ReplyDeleteI am 100% behind BR but i also do not forget what benitez has done. put it this way, imagine if stirling, kelly and the rest where not availlable this yr we would be in a right mess.
last thing i will say on benitez as i do support BR fully and will be supporting him even if liverpool finish mid table as after listening to his 40 minute meeting with fanzine groups i will give him the time and seasons to get it right.
ReplyDeleteFor all the Benitez haters, it may be rafa's work with the academy that keeps BR in a job. plus Rafa give me the best game i have ever seen as a liverpool manager, in his tenure i had some of the most memorable nights on the kop. Even though he failed in his last yr, i will always give him the respect he deserves for his work with liverpool both within the club and supporting the families of hillsborough.
Jovetic is a decent player but unless we get radamel falcao which is impossible to even imagine or even dimaio we cant afford splashing such a huge cash for another non-striker player.
ReplyDeleteSuarez has the potential to be a ballon d'or winner IMO but sadly is increasingly inconsistent. IMO he is very much like Mario ballotelli who is also a superb footballer but just cant deliver on a regular basis unlike RvP or falcao.
I'd like to ask you a question. Why is it that so many people hold Benítez in the highest esteem, but hardly anyone ever mentions Gerard Houllier, who has put us back onto the European map winning one of the most entertaining UEFA-Cup-Finals ever. He laid the foundation of what is now our youth academy.
ReplyDeleteBR will not touch any of Commolli"s pursuits. It is a new manager's regime and he will want to stamp his mark with his choices. Just like any new management in the business world.
ReplyDeleteWhen KK was sacked we knew the new manager will come in and dismantle the works and rebuild. So we wait again in anticipation.
How many years? your guess is good as mine.
Jovetic is an excellent player, would be a real coup to get him, I have seen quite a bit of him playing, real class.
ReplyDeleteJK if we reach the Champions league places, he he, what were you drinking the weekend.
Benitez involvement in Lfc is dead and buried, part of our history, 4get him.
The team in 2005 was mainly Houllier's which he miraculously won the CL with. The team in 2008 was at the peak of Benitez's reign when we had Alonso, Mascherano and Torres.
ReplyDeleteAnyway some people have it in for Benitez despite the glorious years and hardwork he put in. Blame the xenophobic media, the misinformed public/fans but we were a damn site closer to winning the league and accumulating the highly coveted trophies then than we are now.
Many blame him for poor signings. Well name a manager that hasn't made a poor signing? Some even claim he spent too much?! Another myth!
We were averaging 16m a year net until the transfers went into a negative trend in his final 3 transfer windows. At least he quickly sold off players (often his 3rd of 4th choices) that didn't work out: http://tomkinstimes.com/2011/02/benitez-the-great-money-waster/
Then you get the people who think his rant was the reason we did so badly in the 2nd half of the season... not because there were injuries to key players such as Gerrard or Torres and that we were not strong enough in depth to compete in 4 competitions, or that it is simply impossible to maintain the kind of form.
Anyway the legacy that Rafa left behind which is our youth/reserves/academy will continue to bear fruit under the tutelage of Borrell and Segura (who unfortunately left).
Has there been a manager in La Liga who has won the league outside of Barca or Real?! Well Rafa did it twice! Pure Genius!!
Let's be grateful and not hateful. Like somebody said, the academy Rafa setup may just keep BR in a job for Christ's sakes.
ReplyDeleteYeah he was realistic when we finished 2nd and rafa wanted him at lfc.........
ReplyDelete