Transfer surprise: LFC still want 'suffering' £20m striker who rejected Rafa

Serbia coach Sinisa Mihajlovic recently suggested that long-time Liverpool target Stevan Jovetic would leave Fiorentina this summer, and with Arsenal stepping up their interest in the coveted striker, the Reds appear to have slipped out of the running. Or have they? Reports in Italy this week suggest that Liverpool are still monitoring the player's situation, which given his huge price tage, is something of a surprise.

Jovetic has constantly been linked with a move to Anfield over the last few years, and according to TMW today, Liverpool are still keeping tabs on the 23-year old, who is expected to cost around £20m.

The Jovetic transfer saga has intensified over the last year:

* July 2012: Italian Newspaper Corriere dello Sport report a Liverpool bid of €22m bid for the player.

* September 2012: Fiorentina Technical Director Eduardo Macia - who worked as Chief Scout at Liverpool between 2006 and 2010 - concedes that keeping 20m-rated Jovetic at Fiorentina will be 'very difficult', and hails the striker's massive influence on the club:

"Jovetic? He is a fantastic player, who eventually will play for another club. To us his contribution on the field is similar to that of Steven Gerrard at Liverpool. This summer we decided that Jovetic was not to be put on the market and he understood this perfectly, despite the offer of Juventus."

* November 2012: Rafa Benitez admitts that he tried to sign Jovetic in the summer of 2009, claiming the striker would've helped the Reds 'build on the previous year's title challenge'.

* December 2012: Viola general manager Sandro Mencucci confirms that Jovetic will leave at the end of this season. He tells reporters:

"He [Jovetic] 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"

* February 2013: Mihajlovic - who managed Jovetic for a year between 2010 and 2011 - tells Italian newspaper La Gazzetta dello Sport:

"I consider Jovetic to be one of the best players in Serie A, but right now he is not playing at his level. I am no longer in Florence, so I cannot say for sure what the problem is, but it’s evident he is suffering because of something and if things don’t change I think he could leave at the end of the season"

* March 2013: Jovetic tells Sky Sports Italia:

"The transfer market? It has been talked about my contract and my future since the beginning of the season. In June we'll see. Right now, I'm focused to score as many goals as possible and to make lots of assists for team-mates."

* March 2013: Fiorentina Director Daniele Prade tellsCorriere dello Sport:

"A decision on his [Jovetic's] future will be taken in June together with the player. Andrea Della Valle made him a promise last year and he's not one to break his promises. If we do sell, we prefer him to go abroad, though".

Arsenal reportedly believe they can get Jovetic for less than £20m, and they're probably right. Given their comparatively lowly status, Fiorentina are in no position to hold clubs to ransom, and with only 12 goals this season - and only one since February - the Montenegrin is, by his standards, having a comparatively ineffective year.

Given Luis Suarez's suspension, shouldn't Liverpool, at the very least, put in a another bid for Jovetic? He fits FSG's infernal transfer policy, and a three-pronged attack of Suarez, Sturridge and Jovetic could be the stuff dreams are made of.



Jaimie Kanwar

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