30 Jan 2013

"Talks are ongoing" - LFC negotiating last-minute deal for African star. Good news...?

Transfer deadline day is almost here again, and with Philippe Coutinho and Daniel Sturridge already signed, there's still time for the Reds to land a much-needed central defender. Modibo Diakité seems to be the most likely option, and tonight, his Agent confirmed that Anfield is the player's preferred destination.

Earlier today, Ulisse Savini - Diakité's Agent - emphatically reiterated that Liverpool are in pole position to sign the Senegalese defender. He told TMW:

"Liverpool is our first choice. Talks are ongoing, but there is no hurry.

"We'll see in the next few days, however, it would be hard to say no to a club like Liverpool"


This latest statement comes after Savini's comments earlier in the week, when confirmed Liverpool's interest in the 25-year old:

"Yes, Liverpool and Juventus are both following Diakité, and today I was in London for [transfer] talks, but I can't make any predictions right now. "

Diakité has rejected a new contract at Lazio, bringing to an end a long drawn-out dispute with the Serie A giants. His only option would seem to be a move away, and with Liverpool in need of defensive cover, a move to Anfield is seemingly on the cards.

However, the fact that Savini suggests there is 'ni hurry' could mean that the move could take place in the summer, when Diakité will be a free agent.

If LFC do sign Diakité in January, at least it won't be for big money. Claudio Lotito, Lazio's owner, is looking to recover €1.5m (£1m) for the player, which is well within the club's budget.

Jaimie Kanwar

NOTE: Please stick to the Comment Policy (Click to read)


70 comments:

  1. 1 million for someone that rubbish and runnign out of contract and not in the managers first team plans?  tottenham got holtby for 1.5 million, so paying 1 million for this player seems absurd. i'd rarther we didnt bother but if we do, lets just get him for nothing in the summer rather than paying anything for him. coates is so much better!

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  2. defenders are paramount now, not midfielders. we are becoming more woeful game by game, defensively.

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  3. He isn't rubbished seen him play,big unit ideal for stoke games, ang bargain for 1 million....

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  4. Would be a good signing, but gutted about the ince deal.... But Rodgers has said he will do it in the summer.

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  5. coates can't defend as long as his ar*sehole faces the floor

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  6. Could make sense to add him to the squad. But still not the answer to our defensive issues.
    We need to overhaul the defence in the summer with a couple of quality players. I know, that word again. But it's true; and it would also press Agger and Skrtel to up their games to standards we know they can reach. 
    We would then have decent options and could field form players in defence through choice, not necessity. By being more difficult to score against, I think the attack side of our game would benefit as we wouldn't, (shouldn't) then give away 2 goal advantages.....

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  7. Apparently he's learning to play whilst doing  handstands.... 

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  8. technically diakite is not that good. and with the passing football rodgers is trying to implement with liverpool, playing football out from the back diakite wouldnt be the greatest as someone like him trying to pass the ball out could lead to alot of silly goals. however, similar to skrtel, diakite is very good in the tackle and is incredibly rough and this is the sort of strength what we have been lacking, but like skrtel (remember what he did against man city for tevez goal?), he is not good with the ball at his feet and passing the ball around is not his game. daniel agger is a angel blessed with excellent technical ability and tackling. jamie carragher has natural technical skills due to him formerly being a midfielder anyways and although slow, his experience and reading of the game covers up for that massively (carraghers position didnt allow walcott to break through and treat him like a turtle) but for £1million there is no harm done in this transfer and it could be a gamble that works out. as seen many times when we retained possession from arsenal instead of going for the clearance we passed it around and very well indeed. having defenders who can pass around very well is the key to the brendan rodgers revolution (like barcelona) and with agger and g.johnson two more technically gifted defenders could really help us in becoming a top club. andre wisdom is a magnificent talent and his reading, tackling, interceptions and work rate would make you think hes a player in his prime. the only thing he needs to work on is his left foot. he never seems to use his left foot but this is only because he is young and doesnt want to make mistakes. that itself is a very good trait to have because it can save your team from conceding silly goals but once training on his left foot, andre wisdom will be one of the greatest liverpool defenders to live

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  9. coates! have u been on the sherry!!!!

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  10. You don't necessarily need big players to beat Stoke. Wigan haven't lost to them for 4 years.

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  11. I do like Wisdom too and really have my fingers crossed for him. But I don't think he's quite at the level you put him just yet.
    He comes in too narrow at times and leaves us vulnerable to crosses when he has the time to get to the man and press.
    Also his attacking lacks a bit at the crucial moment.
    I understand in a few years he could be a major centre back for us as I love his pace,work rate and timely interceptions. But at the moment he is being played at right back so has to learn everything about that position.
    He still has a lot to learn to become one of our greats. In fact, if all were to be realised, we have a potential team littered with greats.
    Time will tell on this one.

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  12. on the bright side more technically gifted players like coutinho, suarez and sturridge will help us with the football were trying to play. our one touch play and passing will improve which will bring greater flow to our game and hopefully will increase our chance creation ratio. this will also allow us to be able to beat smaller teams much easier (guarenteeing wins against smaller teams the key to getting top four). also very happy to see jordan henderson performing so well becoz i always knew he had the ability. this will also force rodgers not to play bull shit joe allen who doesnt contribute to our attack whatsoever. despite this only being noticed recently, jordan henderson has great technical abilty, his first touch is good, first touch distrubution is spot on, versatile and his stamina and work rate is magnificent for a player of his age. hes a top athlete believe it or not and with top players around him he will look a marvellous player. assist and goal will do great for his confidence. 2 wonderful goals on the trot. keep it up hendo! (y)

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  13. very true. but when wisdom has played alonside carragher, he has been excellent at times. when playing with experienced players, due to their excellent positioning it often allows wisdom to recover well. but whilst alongside skrtel, wisdom has often looked shaky. but wisdoms positioning himself is excellent and he only pushes when the time is right giving him most of the times quite alot of space. this is a great trait considering full backs nowadays often push up abit too much sometimes and get caught too high up the field when the counter is on. but i think rodgers is wise, he wants wisdom to gain his technically ability, reading of the game from playing as a full back so that he will be a top class versatile defender. in a few years time rodgers will make wisdom a centre back. he gets better every game, whereas sterling has very indifferent form

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  14. Liverpool fc still your first choice but untill now where are you been?

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  15. hope carra does his badges and soon go back to the old format of promoting from within . shanks to bob to joe to kenny .carra speaks it the way it is .fed up with this irish bu""shit. fuck me there were players nackered after 75 mins and he left 2 fresh subs on the bench. something has got to change starting with that useless lump in goal ,the manager, coates, the golden child sterling,and the15 million £ yes  fuckin 15million for allen , for fucks sake, wtf is goin on??????????????? yep i think i could put up with jamie and give him a chance cos were goin nowhere under this fella

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  16. hopefully resign!!

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  17.  don't take the piss billy with the irish the man is a chelsea hun and its not that he is irish or a manc its he has never won a thing and is no better than kenny in the league or the cups and kennys players the youngsters are getting better and we can't atract a top boss with a top cv other than rafa on fsg's budget we sacked kenny act in haste repent at leisure rodgers even insisted no comolli type but maybe kenny should done the same but its rafa or nigel atkins

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  18. When Kelly is fit surely he is going to be groomed to be a backup C.B as well as Wisdom what Liverpool need to do is get a top class defender in the summer.
    Someone capable of filling a role as a starter week in week out i am sick of these mediocre names being thrown about.

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  19. apols m8 should havn t mentioned the irish . great history with the reds . rafa or nigel atkins . i settle 4 nigel kennedy instead of rodgers at the moment!!!

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  20. I finally think the team is taking shape for the future, Multiple reasons why it will naturally become our priority in the summer to bring in a few defenders...
    Carragher will become a player/trainee coach and we will sell Coates, or give him away?!
    Skrtel will go on a hiking trip in the Tatras and will never be seen again?! or less dramatic would be to sell him to West Ham with the rest of our shite!
    Anyway the best thing to do would be to give Rodgers the time he duly deserves, tactics aside if you do not have the players, which if we where honest we all know most of these players are not good enough, That makes it pretty hard to implement your specific style,
    The better option would be that we must give the next best thing, PATIENCE......
    Y.N.W.A!

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  21. liverpool4life5651:56 am, January 31, 2013

    NO, not resign, he staying at Liverpool, :)

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  22. They said Kelly refusing to sign a new contract until now? Plus, he seems to be injured too often. Hopefully just growing pains but has been for quite a while.

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  23. buy nesta from millan we are liverpool we should have the best not some reject nobody wants for nothing

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  24. Cannot believe we are interested in him. He lacks experience, at the age of 25. Isimat-Mirin is probably the better option, at about the same price. Any of those deals wouldn't go through today anyway.

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  25. I personally think the problem is and always will be Stevie G...! A great player he use to be now he is just playing on memories. Watched him against the Gooners and he went missing, he provided very little cover for our defence, broke up the rhythm of the Reds attack with those Hollywood passes and generally looked unfit.
    LFC have gone through some major changes over the years but Stevie always escape the wrath off the fans...with Stevie It's like having a brand new car fitted with an old engine. He is not a 90 min player anymore. I think BR should use Shelvy even if he is still a bit raw he will only get better in the first team.

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  26. Skrtel's mind has been hiking in the Tatra during his matches for us on a regular basis.

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  27. Nesta? Is he still playing? How old is he by now? Thought he had retired already. Ten, or even five years ago he would have been a sound signing.

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  28. More like billy the pussy hole...shut da f up I see you forget to mention Souness, Evans or even to a less extent Thompson..promotion from within doesn't mean automatic success or even a continuation of good fortune.
    I was going to continue to take your whole ignorant racist statement apart but then I thought nah leave the pussy hole everyone is entitled their opinion.

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  29. been thinking this about stevie for last couple of season john , his brain is there but his legs arent for 90 mins , like carra he should be rested or just floating around the front of defence , i was bit disapointed after the gooners game last night , thought we should have got the 3points we played well , henderson seems to be settling , enjoyed watching watchin him , man city next , i think we'll win . 

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  30. Bringing in more dead wood... Need experienced players & good ones at that! Wake up Rodgers!

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  31. Lol, i think nesta is drawing his pension now :)

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  32. My mate is a rangers fanatic & when we got nick the greek he couldnt believe it as he said he was shi*e but he reckons this guy would make nick look like franco baresi, he,s absolute poomtang

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  33. I'm leaning towards that too after seeing his 'highlights' video. I find it hard to believe that BR would want to sign him, considering he has no touch at all.

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  34. factually he is a tim. it is just unfortunate that he sullied himself by working for 'ra*gers lite'.

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  35. in that case, he would fit in our defence perfectly at the moment.

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  36. Obvs didn't watch the same Arsenal Liverpool game as me. "very little cover for our defence"...no obviously you live in some parallel universe...Schrodinger's cat twists my melon.

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  37. We aren't interested...No offence to Kanwar but he mentions a great deal of people LFC are possibly 'interested' in, and not many of that number sign. 

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  38. Who do you recommend we get in to replace him, then?

    Rodgers is doing a job, albeit slowly, and the club will reap the rewards for it for years to come. Stop looking at the Chelsea & Man City models of buying up as many players as possible to try and win trophies. What they are doing is unsustainable for the long term futures of their clubs when the FFP comes in. 

    FSG won't sack him, if they get in a new manager then they'll be looking at someone who will want to implement their own philosophies and style of play and that, my friend, will cost another fortune which FSG won't be willing to spend. 

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  39. What about Wisdom or Kelly playing centre back?

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  40. how can u say coates is so good did you not watch oldam game shocking had chance 2 stand up and shine but had torrent time as with jack robinson need 2 take their chances

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  41. According to the player's agent, we are interested. Agents surely talk a lot and big up interest in their players, but it is not as if Jaimie made that one up himself. That a deal doesn't happen, doesn't mean that we weren't interested in signing a particular player (e.g. Dempsey, Sigurdsson).

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  42. He didn't say that Coates is so good, just that he is so much better than Diakite and that doesn't say a lot.

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  43. On the long run this is the best solution, but would you push one of them in the middle right now?

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  44. Surely not the get Rafa back comments again.

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  45. Our defense is weak! lose 1 first teamer and the weakness shows. We need Kelly back and glad that Enrique is back...

    Rogers again last night though with the decisions!

    Liverpool 2 - 0 up! He should have changed things up right there and then! That's when Enrique SHOULD have come on! not 10 minutes later when it's 2 - 2 again!

    Suarez looked tired toward the end, lets hope he can recover nicely for the weekend.

    Last but not least, I don't think city will throw that kind of intensity at us... Based on that I think we can win.

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  46. I was thinking that, the game I saw last night had Gerrard constantly covering Johnson at left back against the pace of Walcott and he got a number of tackles in on Wiltshire at the edge of our box. In my opinion the problem is our back four. We conceded yet another header from a standard free kick and although Walcott scored a good goal where was the Left back? We have to be more dominant physically, in all areas including up front where in the second half last night everytime it was played into the strikers they couldn't hold it up so we was constantly losing the ball and the pressure was just building on our shaky back four. One final point, Although it was a great strike from Walcott for the second goal am I the only one in thinking that Reina should of done better? He didn't move and on seeing it quite a few times this morning it looks like it went past him no more than a foot away. I honestly think Joe Hart or a more athletic Goalkeeper would of saved it.

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  47. Man City have players of better quality. They probably don't need as much intensity to break our weak defence down. They've lost one home game in what, I don't know, a year? It would be great to win there, of course, but I just don't see that happening.

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  48. They don't have the pace to cause us those kinds of problems like Arsenal did... their front four are phenomenal...


    Plus the biggest factor is NO YAYA TOURE!

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  49. They still have players like Agüero and Tevez, their keeper is light-years ahead of that guy yesterday, probably their entire defence is better than Arsenal's to be honest. I'm not a big fan of Dzeko, but he, too, can really hurt us, given how we defended in our last two matches. Anything can happen, but I've had higher hopes on yesterdays match.

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  50. Somehow history is telling me that we are not good at last minute negotiations - smile - so I won't hold my breath on this one.

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  51. All right, I trust on you and put all my savings on a win for us then :-)

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  52. think of the bigger picture here we need a big physical defender who will not get pushed around by say a benteke or giroud type striker..we like steel in defence and continue to conceed goals from set peices 1 mill for this 6'4 beast is a steal,even better for free would be good.

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  53. Lazio, and his other option to Liverpool in Juventus.

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  54. You preach patience, yet you're slating Skrtel who's going thru a minor slump and was our player of the year last season, and the season before I think too! He's not ideally suited to our new style of play, but has adapted far better than expected, and he work rate and committed defending are needed in some matches. YNWA

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  55. You are an idiot.

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  56. am i the only one who sees that 50% of our problems is PEPE REiNA ..his reflexes are dead ..study the arsenal game carefully . u will notice why he is mostly on the bench for spain.

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  57. No, your not the only one mate, i think he,s been cack for the last few seasons

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  58. Our security guard at work is a beast too, but i think he,d still be shi*e in defence for us

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  59. Priority should be DM cover. The defense will sort it's self out. But I agree we need backup in defense. Buck's tic tac system is alien to our boys at the back. They are struggling.

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  60. he would be good if any of our cb are not able to play he is 6ft3 :) i watched a vidweo he is actually good :)

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  61. Hardly any at all. but it is all about discussions and debates. that is what this site is about. Having an intellectual intercourse.

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  62. Err. apparently Enrique took 5 min to sort his shoe laces and bam we let in two goals. according to Buck.

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  63. Have you watched man city play? they have pace and intensity.

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  64. We need a defender with the brains of Caragher, the Skill of Agger, the aggression of Skrtel, and the heading ability of Carrol, any ideas lads? lol, we can't defend against free kicks and corners, in fact our defending is shaky to say the least! every time we are attacked my heart is in my mouth, we need a powerful DM, too, we did have a big powerful player who could have helped out at corners etc. but we gave him away. Andy someone, our passing is one forward 2 backwards, Rodgers needs to get wise!

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  65. we should maybe gazump QPR and steel c.samba he was pretty reliable and a good strong hard player good in the air. good squad player

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  66. titus bramble ??? haha

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  67. fact thompson and souness were not promoted from within. only evans . those 3 won six tropheys . u never told an irish joke then? and as for PUSSEY HOLE yes ive stretched a few of them in my time !!!

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  68. not at all .that ship has long sailed .read the post was just replyin to af

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  69. yep andy i was on fire carroll. euros best goal england scored  and got shit on from a great height . what a great decision from brenda to let him go!! more bullshit from a man who has won fuck all. its like willey wonkers a team of midgets and every ball in our box its a fuckin goal .no rodgers doesnt need to get wise . he needs to go asap along with that clown we have between the sticks and that donkey coates.

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