1 Jun 2013

'LFC wanted him' - Agent confirms Reds tried to sign €12m Serie A star. Loss...?

The Agent of Napoli central midfielder Gokhan Inler has confirmed that Liverpool tried to sign the Swiss star during the Rafa Benitez era.

In an interview last night, Dino Lamberti - Inler's Agent - told TMW:

"Liverpool wanted to sign him [Inler] as part of the Napoli deal for Dossena.

"I do not know if the offer was his [Benitez's] idea or the other manager's [Hodgson], but the deal didn't go through because of the transfer fee"


The Reds' interest in 28-year old Inler is nothing new, and in April, reports in Italy, claimed that Liverpool were 'closely monitoring' the Swiss star, who cost Napoli €12m in 2011. Liverpool also tried to sign him a couple of times in the past:

* 2009: Rafa Benitez considered signing the Swiss star as a replacement for Xabi Alonso, but according to reports at the time, the £18m fee for his services proved to be a deal-breaker.

* 2010: Roy Hodgson pursued the midfielder as a replacement for Javier Mascherano, a move that would've made sense considering the former Reds boss worked with Inler during his time managing the Switzerland national team.

In March, (former) Napoli boss Walter Mazzarri dropped Inler from the starting XI, fuelling rumours of a bust-up, but Dino Lamberti - the Swiss star's Agent - told Radio CRC:

“There has been no disagreement [at Napoli]. Inler was slightly injured and Mazzarri decided to deploy Blerim Dzemaili instead. Gokhan is now almost fully recovered and I'm sure he will recover his place in the team. Gokhan is comfortable in Naples and will not move.”

Despite Lamberti's protestations to the contrary, Inler didn't get back into the team as a regular starter, and finished the season as a bit-part player for the club.

Whether the Reds are still monitoring Inler is unclear at this time, but there's no denying that Liverpool need another defensive midfielder. It seems, however, that despite his recent problems, Inler wants to stay at Napoli. Lamberti told Radio CRC last month:

"Despite the many requests for him, Gokhan wants to stay where he is. There are very important clubs of the highest level who are ready to sign him if he is unhappy in Naples, but he wants to stay. He still hasn't shown his true value in Campania, but he is someone who always puts the side ahead of his personal glory."

With Rafa Benitez as his new manager, Inler's future at Napoli is suddenly looking a lot more assured.





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24 comments:

  1. to old now iam not that bothered we missed out on him twice before

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  2. Blimey, even Jason Carr is rebranding!

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  3. FORGET INLER. too old now, good but old and no PL experience. would prefer diame. only £3.5M so cheaper and younger. also i believe diame can help out in defence and attack

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  4. diame will not be going anywhere for 3,5 million ,if we want him it will be 7to10million

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  5. mike i find it odd that someone could mark your post down as it is just telling it as it was said ,sad really

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  6. OC, This isn't a insult so look past our history.Your knowledge regarding players from other leagues seems to be extensive.How much football do you watch and what different leagues do you tune into or do you just hunt for information on the net?

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  7. he got a clause in his contract for £3.5M. still suprised no1 has activated it

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  8. Basically, this transcript says that Suarez isn't saying he wants out right now but at some point he will. This is due to the media la la la. So if Suarez does stay there are ramifications with regards to our spending during the transfer window.

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  9. its not as simple as that lol

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  10. your site is shite. full of dramatic attention seeking bull headlines

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  11. Then why do you get on FSG or BR when they can't bring in a player??? Is that because RB was the manager??

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  12. Both to be honest, although I used to watch a lot more football two or three seasons ago. I used to watch Serie A heavily since the mid 90s until two or three seasons ago, as the mid and lower team games are a terrible watch at times (disappointing really as I used to love Serie A , as well as I've had a soft spot for Inter (mostly when they had great players that made a poor team, i.e., before Mancini's time there. Big fan of Djoerkaeff at Inter) and Roma (Capello's Roma was just awesome. Give him good players that are technically and tactically competent, he is a brilliant manager. Cafu....superhuman) and Viola) and me personally getting more busy. Pity about Serie A, in the 90s they had seven really good clubs (the seven sisters) who had really good players. I liked watching Mainz a bit for a season (this was after Klopp's time there), when they had Schurrle and Holtby, Spalletti's Zenit (though haven't watched them in quite a while, apart from the games against us of course. Danny at his best is something I recommend) and Valencia (still do a bit with the Spaniards). Nowadays, it is just random games here and there from a selection of 4/5 leagues but even then, I don't watch much as I used to. I don't really try watch for a specific team anymore, apart from maybe Dortmund as they are the fashionable team now I suppose. I do like to read news from those leagues though, even if my interest in watching them has dropped.

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  13. Has the Aspas deal been confirmed yet by the clubs? Curious, as Celta have survived relegation tonight. Nice to see Real Sociedad make CL, something different.

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  14. I dont watch a lot of spanish football so Im not really up to speed with their players...oh BTW you're into Spanish football right? What do you make of Aspas? and who would be Valecias best player you'd like us to sign?

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  15. Every bit of football on tv i would watch but not as much anymore.Football has lost me.The sport has been taken over by multi billionaires and obscene tv money.
    MONACO are now the latest club that seem hell bent on hijacking every decent piece of talent not attached to a massive club.
    Italian football in the mid 90's was a great watch.The games would be televised on C4 and they had the fantasy players in that league that you wanted to watch.The game wasn't as polluted back then.CAPELLO, keep him away from the English national side then :-)
    Youth tournaments on EUROSPORT are good to watch because it's good trying to identify who'll be the next big superstar.I pick up the odd game in a different leagues to monitor players we've been heavily linked with too.

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  16. Yes Aspas dribbled and laid the ball on a plate for the scorer, see it at 101greatgoals.

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  17. Not as much as I used to. Haven't watched Celta, apart from highlights, so can't really say. But Valencia I've watched a fair bit this season. Valencia aren't as good as they used to be when they had Villa, Mata, Silva and Albiol (let alone when they had Mendieta, Lopez, Ayala, etc), so they don't really currently have someone that truly stands up there with some of the best like before with Villa for example. But they do have some good players, that could do a good job for us. I think Feghouli could be a good fit for the right wing, as we do seem to have a slot up for grabs there. He is a attacking midfielder that can play left, right or through the middle. I wanted Banega (and Dembele) for central midfield last summer but with Allen here, I don't see space as they are somewhat similar. They have a solid robust centre back Rami, who might be worth getting at the right price. Soldado is a fine striker but I don't think he is what we need up front, in terms of dynamic. To be honest, apart from Banega, there isn't much to get excited about at Valencia, in terms of quality of players, imo.


    Without CL, they will most likely sell one or two of their important players (most likely, imo, Rami at least).


    If Sociedad hadn't qualified CL, i would have suggested Griezmann. First saw him 2 seasons ago, coming along well. Likes to start from wide a lot and looks to hold width at times but comes towards the middle too, especially in the channels, a bit like Pires in that regard. Him and Carlos Vela are seriously quick and dangerous on the counter (generally, Sociedad seem to be a handy side on the counter, though dodgy at the back). Still a bit wishy washy in his play, in terms of having passages where he doesn't do much but that is par for the course, for a young attacking midfielder/wide player.


    Hmm, maybe see Xabi return to Sociedad when his contract finish would be nice to see.

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  18. Yeah I didn't make any remarks on it, I just thought it would allow people to make their own minds up based on what was actually said and in full context.
    Maybe it was JK lol
    only joking

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  19. Would've been a good signing, missed out i think, although if we could get him on the cheap now, although i know there is no indication of any actual interest, it would provide good experience for the midfield and the younger guys to learn from

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  20. So Rami would be a decent buy I take it? On another side note with them not getting CL money Id say they're in real big trouble so their players would go quite cheap then

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  21. do not think jk would be that childish imo just some one who likes to live in gaga land and does not like the truth

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  22. He isn't particularly quick for a centre back and not flawless in terms of consistency but other than that, he is a powerful CB who puts himself about, who isn't bad on the ball either and not afraid to bring the ball out. Without CL money, Valencia surely need to sell me thinks. The whole Valencian region is pretty much struggling. Probably the worse region in Spain, in terms of the impact of recession.

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  23. I think we should go all out and get this lad.

    Why?

    People keep saying that our team lacks leaders- lionhearts.

    Well, the only thing better than a lionheart is a lion-head.

    Behold:
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=krU_90yH99Y

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