With Euro 2008 acting as a stick in the spokes of the summer rumour mill, all Liverpool fans have to feed off is ‘The Continuing Story of Gareth Barry’. Will he? Won’t he? Oh for heaven’s sake guys, just sort it out and let the papers move on to something more interesting.

For a club with limited transfer funds (in this day and age, how does that happen to an English team consistently competing in the Champions League?), one has to question the wisdom of spending up to £20m on a central midfielder that is not much of an improvement on what they already have. Granted, Xabi Alonso’s transfer to Juventus may raise some funds. Maybe this is a move with one eye on winning that elusive league title, rather than another European Cup. Graft above guile.

What Liverpool actually need are wide men. As many as you’ve got please. Whilst rumours persist about the arrival of David Bentley and Stuart Downing, you have to question just how ambitious the club are.

If you are going to spend over £25m on one of the best strikers in the world, and manage to keep hold of one of the best midfielders in the world, surely you have to seize the moment and take the financial plunge? When the new stadium is built in two or three years and revenues double, Carragher may have retired, Torres may be thinking of Spain again and Gerrard will be approaching his thirties. Man Utd, Chelsea and Arsenal aren’t going to hang around. Even Spurs are splashing the cash on Modric and Giovanni Dos Santos whilst the money is flowing into the Premier League.

And so we come to the case of Liverpool’s long time target, Ricardo ‘Mustang’ Quaresma, who is ready to move to a big club…

Porto winger Ricardo Quaresma says he is ready to “take the leap to a big club”, but has refused to comment on speculation linking him with a move to Inter.

“I am ready to take the leap,” said the 24-year-old.

“I have grown a lot. I think I am ready to take the leap to a big club.”

[Setanta]

So are Liverpool fans optimistic that Rafa and the Yanks will sanction such a move? Could Quaresma be the desequilibrante that the fans have been dreaming of? Or are you consigned to picking off the cream of mid-table teams?