21 Nov 2012

'He's ready to leave LFC' - Arsenal 'front-runners' to sign Reds star. Let him go?

In an interview yesterday, Liverpool goalkeeper Pepe Reina made light of the fact that his recent spell on the sidelines was the longest he'd been out of any team during his playing career. The Spaniard returned with a clean-sheet against Wigan, but after the excellent cover-performances by Brad Jones, the pressure is well and truly on Reina to maintain his form or risk being dropped. Rodgers' recent faith in Jones may have been an unwelcome wake-up call for Reina, because it appears he may be keen on leaving Anfield in January.

According to one report this week:

"Pepe Reina is ready to leave Liverpool.

"His agent has been exploring the possibility of a La Liga return, and testing the market among clubs who could afford to pay the Spanish keeper’s £100k-a-week wages.

"The goalkeeper could leave Anfield in January if the price is right".


Reina has been in the comfort zone for the last six years: guaranteed a place in the team as long as he remained fit; no real challengers for his position, and repeatedly picked despite incrementally poor performances.

Things have now changed though, and Reina's time as an automatic starter is at an end.
In recent weeks, Liverpool have been linked with a number of goalkeepers, including Jack Butland, Jason Steele, Ali Al Habsi, and Marc-Andre ter Stegen, and I'm sure this will not have escaped the Spaniard's notice.

Despite Brendan Rodgers' repeated public support, the writing is on the wall for Reina, and he probably knows that, which is why it makes sense that he may be looking for a way out of Anfield.

Reina has subtly threatened many times in the past to leave the club, and to be honest, I would have no problem if he left in January.

Arsenal are reportedly the 'the early front-runners' to sign Reina, with Arsene Wenger open to a 'realistic swap deal' for the 'Keeper.

Theo Walcott is the obvious option for a swap deal, and although I'm not the 23-year old's biggest fan, the deal would make sense for Liverpool.

Jaimie Kanwar


49 comments:

  1. Bredan Rodgers is a total Idiot

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  2. hes been more good than bad for us, and who believes the mirror. its notoriously poor in terms of authentic news.
    Rodgers loves pepe's style of play and suitability to the system, and hopefully he'll find his form again.
    how many golden gloves ? lets not forget the best of pepe,just because of a bad year or so....it must be hard playing under shite managers like kenny and woy.

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  3. The Mirror, Jaimie? The Mirror?

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  4. Hope this is not true. Reina is part of that world class spine of the team that we've had for the last 5 years. He's a proper red. Just wish we could promise him CL footy. Who knows what January will bring. SHOULD be a busy one.

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  5. Just because it's The Mirror doesn't mean it's automatically false. If you were objective, and studied their stories over a period of time, you would see they get lots of things right. The perception that tabloids get things wrong every time is just a tired cliche.

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  6. You love these rumours, don't you Jaimie, especially if it's to do with one of our world class players that you don't like, for whatever reason.

    I don't believe for a minute that we'll find a better keeper than Reina and certainly none of the candidates that you have mentioned, qualify.

    This Reina to Arsenal rumour needs to go away forever.

    All players can have a dip in form, but Reina's got many years ahead of him at the top level and we need players like Reina if we're to improve. Don't worry, he'll get back to his best.

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  7. So according to this dubious article his agent is looking for a La Liga return and Arsenal are the front runners...? I know there aren't many English players at Arsenal but still I'd call them a Ligue 1 team rather than a La Liga team..

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  8. Amazingly enough, it is possible for the two to co-exist. The universe doesn't implode if a club wants to sign someone who prefers a move to a different league.

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  9. not every time every dog has its day .Pepes just coming into his prime as a keeper and imo has a lot higher transfer value than walcott due to the lenghts of there contracts and personally i do not rate walcott

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  10. Don't really see connection between bad managers and dropping balls my granny would not drop.
    And please don't call Kenny shite.

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  11. I'm a little surprised that you (and others to be fair) would be so willing to accept Pepe's departure. I dont dispute his form in the last 18 months or so has not been to the standards he has set, and the lack of competition for place could well be the cause of that. But that doesn't mean he isn't still a top goalkeeper. One we would certainly struggle to replace in my opinion.

    His overall Liverpool career has been excellent. And i know you are not specififcally doubting that, but i dont think we should be so quick to forget what a fantastic keeper he has been for the club. For me, he has been one of the very best keepers for a long time. And i have every confidence that he will once again return to be at the very top of his game. And even if he is not quite at that same level, he is still better than the majority of keepers around that we would realistically get. Even ehen making mistakes (as every keeper does), the confidence he inspires in his team-mates and fans alike should not be under-estimated.

    I would be careful what we wish for because i think losing Pepe would be a huge blow for us and we would be very fortunate to replace him. None of the names mentioned here would be able to come in and be as effective in my optinion in the immediate short-term

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  12. I have been a fan of Reina's for many years but I have to say that I don't believe his heart has been in the job for the last two seasons. May be it is time for him to take on a new challenge. As for the idea of a swop for Walcott I think it wouuld be a great idea. Wouldn't tie up any capital and we get an exciting young striker. Go for it !

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  13. As an Arsenal fan I'm amazed by your attitude towards Theo. He's now our most accomplished finisher and with his pace he terrifies people. Gone are the days when he'd be played through and we'd be waiting for him to trip over the ball- now when he runs on to a through ball you expect him to score. We should be doing everything we can to keep him and I think we will. Why? Well this season he's had 6 starts and 13 sub appearances for us, in which time he's scored 10 and made 8 assists.

    And besides- and I say this as someone who's always had a soft spot for Liverpool- why would he go to you lot? You're not at the top table any more, and show no signs of getting back there for a long time to come.

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  14. After seeing both utd and arsenal have major problems replacing world class goalkeepers i would hate to see this happen. Jaimie even if Reina goes Brad Jones will not become long term number one. He is not good enough and the manager knows this.

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  15. I have to agree with that. It seems to take ages to replace a keeper. They just never seem to settle as quickly.

    Whilst he hasnt been at his best, he is still one of the top keepers around, and I dont think Jones is the man to replace him. He has been ok, but not amazing.

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  16. GET HIM! HE'S AN ARSENAL FAN!!!!

    Only joking. I dont think Theo would joins us, and im not even sure he will leave to be honest, well at least not in January. July could be a completely differnet story though, depending on where they finish.

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  17. You are right, we are in a situation in which we can't afford adjustment time for the new keeper. but what if Reina never restores his form

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  18. reina is a fat boy. not a bad keeper but weve got a good one. and i suppose mannone isnt too muhc of a rapist to play second fiddle. AS FOR THEO. his ass is ours. we will murder him before seeing another arsenal player leave and score past us.

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  19. I agree but how likely is it to happen? If Pepe wants to move back home, he'll find a club. If he doesn't, why would he move to Arsenal? He loves it at LFC.

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  20. Reina for Theo Walcott. Yes please with sugar on top.

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  21. I thought you banned abuse of previous managers

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  22. What utter tosh. Have you tried writing a novel

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  23. You will write anything on paper to get a few hits, you'd fit perfectly in at the Sun or one of those other bullshit newspapers, you should actually be ashamed of yourself for writing this stuff, it's crap, really, really crap. Anyway, you make it hard not to vent frustration, I read the first line and you use no sources for any of the comments you make. Disgrace of a writer and if you get a job as a journalist somewhere, you have given me all of the signs I need to see that there is absolute evidence that there is utterly no hope for human beings on this planet, you're a thick.

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  24. Very, very tenuous this. No quotes, nothing but conjecture and a few circumstances that could possibly lead to Reina leaving for Arsenal.

    Think I'll wait for something more concrete before worrying about this. If we take 14 or so points over the next 6 games, difficult but certainly within our grasp, then there will be little talk of Reina leaving, and possibly us being so far behind the likes of Arsenal, Spurs et al

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  25. kenny is dog shite,old scouse ignorant fcuk

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  26. If im not mistaken kennys no 2 is sitting pretty above us with west brom right now.

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  27. ^ Personal sniping isnt allowed...u might be banned. And DONT EVER ABUSE KK u stupid fag.

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  28. True...Walcott + 8-10 mil would be ideal..

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  29. Yeh the kenny that set liverpool back alot of years he ruined the club. andy carrol, stewart downing, charlie adam, jordan henderson alot of wasted money.. can anyone explain why he spent so much on these tubes please tell me

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  30. Erase his bloody nickname!

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  31. so what if he is. He just inherited a good team. If you can think back to last season you would find that Woy Hodgson had good success with the same team. Steve Clarke didn't have to buy these players somebody else got Peter Odemuwengie and Shane Long. Some body else set the table for Clarke

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  32. i don't know how to break this to you gently with out shattering your world. That world class spine that Reina has been a part of has failed to deliver of late. Constant dependence on the spine has been the undoing of this once great footballing institution. The only member of this so called spine still producing everyday is Gerrard. Rodgers has long ago relegated Carragher to the bench and suddenely and it's no surprise that we find out that he might retire after this season. The world class spine of the team has long been broken and it is time to start a new cycle. We are essentially building a new team from scratch. One in which a team is built around Luis Suarez and not so much Gerrard. Suarez is now Liverpool's chief creator. As soon as we are rid of Mr Reina then we can get a younger more mobile individual who is really eager to impress in goal.

    Salexa 171 we need to move away from living too much in our illustrious past and work on making our present reality a more pleasant one.

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  33. What do you mean by "according to one report", jamie you make up such a load of tosh! Justify the authenticity of that statement.

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  34. *sigh*

    Forgive my language, but before spouting crap about making stuff up, but why don't you click on the f***ing link, which will take you through to the source.

    The word 'report' is a hyperlink.

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  35. its quite obvious reaina has been itching to leave for over 2 years now. don't rule out a move to Chelsea now with raffa in charge.
    he was one of the best, but yank owners past and present have disolutioned him. maybe brad jones should of been a starter from when he first joined he might of been on top of his game right now. even though he has been good enough for us so far

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  36. I think he is suggesting you have mangled the facts, which is true.No amount of sarcasm from you will change the fact that this story seems to be idle speculation with little evidence to support it.

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  37. i agree, he is far more likely to leave to go to Chelsea than to Arsenal. Cech is past his best and has no real competitiom and Rafa would want him for sure so Reina could go there no doubt.

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  38. Hahahaha.....drama oh drama.Maybe he want to follow R.Benitez at Chelsea now.

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  39. I could see Reina leaving, however i cant see it happening in Jan more likely in the Summer. Reina has become frustrated at Rogers style which doesn't allow him to look for long balls to set up attacks. This is one part of the game which Reina excelled at, his distribution was top class looking to set us off on quick counter attacks but Rogers would prefer him to roll the ball out short.

    This is not a blight on Rodgers it is just that maybe Reina enjoyed that part of the game and is not enjoying it as the club as much as he was.

    I would love to keep Reina but i can see the possibility of him leaving.

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  40. I think it's not a matter of people wanting Pepe to leave mate, at least not for most people. It's mostly a matter of people realising that he eventually will. Reina is pushing thirty and he's always said he wants to return to Spain one day, possibly Atletico. And even though goalkeepers can play till their late thirties sometimes, the risk that he starts picking up injuries more often as he gets older may push him back home if the opportunity presents itself. Atletico, for example, have Courtois in goal now but I wouldn't be surprised if Chelsea recall him next season. Courtois is a fantastic keeper and it would take someone big to replace him. In the eyes of many Atletico fans the fact that Reina is Spanish and the family history and nostaligia there will make him the perfect replacement, his tremendous quality aside. If that happens we'll be the ones left holding our heads as we've let the perfect replacement go to Chelsea a year ago and, as you said, replacing a quality keeper like Reina is not easy. To be honest, I really couldn't think of one keeper out there, aside from Courtois, who I'd rather have in goal for us than Pepe.

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  41. answer : commolli [appointed by yanks]

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  42. he says "things have changed now he is no longer a automatic starter". says who? hes fit again and straight back in . who else will come here and is better than PR . exactly . walcott is lightweight ... swap cole for him thats about it !

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  43. headlines for clicks and advertising

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  44. takes you thru to daily manc site. hardly credible

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  45. Another load of tripe from tripe master general Jamie Kanawar

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  46. lets Reina go for more than 20m.

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