Liverpool badly want £16m man: The best signing of the summer?
by Mr Comfort on July 2nd, 2008
| 391 words |
Rafa Benitez has set his sights on this talented midfielder at the peak of his game, now all he needs to do is make an offer that Aston Villa can’t refuse!
Aston Villa have told Liverpool they are under no pressure to sell skipper Gareth Barry until the price is right which will be in the region of at least £18million.
Villa boss Martin O’Neill has no need to offload the England midfielder on the cheap because it is understood the deal will have no bearing on his own spending power during the summer.
O’Neill is believed to be aware of the funds he has at his disposal from club owner Randy Lerner. (Daily Mail)
Aston Villa will remain steadfast in their ?18million assessment of Gareth Barry, despite the player’s public admission that he wants to leave…
Villa fans received the worst news they could have hoped for when Barry recently announced that he is desperate to join Liverpool.The England midfielder rubbed salt into the wound by accusing the club of dismissing his requests, even claiming that manager Martin O’Neill has neglected him entirely while the Reds have been circling.
O’Neill hit back via the club’s official website, insisting he and the directors had made every attempt to lure their skipper into staying at Villa Park.
O’Neill and co had been demanding ?18million for the 27-year-old; a price they feel matches the going rate for similar players, such as Manchester United duo Michael Carrick and Owen Hargreaves (both around ?17million). (goal.com)
It seems clear that if Aston Villa boss Martin O’Neill still has Gareth Barry on his books come the end of August, then he will have a very unhappy player on his hands. The England international has made it abundantly clear he wants to leave and, considering his years of loyalty to the club, it would be odd if his demands for a Villa Park exit were not heeded.
However the Midlands club deserve a fair price for their skipper and 18m seems more or less about right. Right now, I would rate him as higher than both Man United players quoted above. Rafa is also being very wise in biding his time, knowing that a sale will sooner or later have to occur and seems more keen on a bid in the region of £16m.
Do Liverpool fans think that ?18m is about right for Gareth Barry?
We're giving you £10 FREE so show some bollocks and BET NOW!
Tagged Under: Aston Villa FC, Liverpool FC, Premier League, Transfer Rumours
Guy - July 2nd, 2008 at 8:50 pm
Simple answer : 18 mil = NO!
Anonymous - July 2nd, 2008 at 8:51 pm
liverpool want gareth barry?
fuck me, thats come out of the blue
Simon - July 2nd, 2008 at 9:13 pm
Quality player though Barry is, the majority of Liverpool fans would rather keep Xabi.
Barry has 2 years on his contract. If Villa are still acting like children, they’re gonna get feck all. He can buy out his contract at his age I believe but its only allowed at the end of the season for a few weeks.
ikij - July 2nd, 2008 at 9:20 pm
£18M is too much for Barry. £15M is too much ! He’s good, but he isnt worth that. Now hes stuffed cos they have fined him etc. He wont play many games next season if hes still at Villa. He’s alienated himself from the manager and fans. I think he can void his contract completely if he plays 10 games or less in a season because hes an established professional also along with buying out his contract?
Anonymous - July 2nd, 2008 at 9:21 pm
MON shove it …18mill? haha, keep your captain who you’ve disgusted with your cancelling his testimonial, poncing about on a free jolly at my licence fee expense in Vienna, when important business needed sorting….and then trying play the injured party……tell you what we’ll keep Xabi and wait till Jan …we’ll see what price then eh?
chrisb - July 2nd, 2008 at 9:26 pm
Simon -he cant buy out his contract in his current situation. Get your facts right. As for Villa behaving like children, well thats a minority opinion amogst liverpool fans judging by the opinion of a number of newsapaper columnists and neutrals around the country. Fairplay to Villa i say. At the end of the day LFC courted a player they couldnt afford ( a bit like when they courted klinsmann behind Benitez back, you know the sort of thing). The behaviour of Villa through this saga has been spot on while liverpool look like an unprofessional skint shambles these days. Villa can afford to leave Barry to rot and they will if they have to. Good luck to them.
redhed - July 2nd, 2008 at 9:48 pm
Hey m.on , I’d devote my hard work and effort to your club, you really look after your top guys. ( good luck attracting names to join your nasty crew) hope GB gets to f**k you over.
redhed - July 2nd, 2008 at 9:56 pm
Not a bad player and apparantly he boasts a 8 and a half inch penis which is fairly wide too
redhed - July 2nd, 2008 at 10:01 pm
you are some sick f**k mate, talk football or shut the f**k up you looser
billy boy - July 2nd, 2008 at 10:16 pm
If we get offered 15 million i would take that and move on, but to be fair to martin oneil he seems to think he can get more for our club. If he gets 18 million id be well chuffed, but like i say id be happy with 15 million for barry.
Hes a good player but i wouldnt pay anymore than 8 million for him, but i suppose when you look at hargreaves and carrick you have to say 15 million is a good and fair price.
I just hope he his the player Liverpool think he his, hes had a good season , can spost a good pass lacks pace but can deliver a good ball.
I hope it all goes well for him.
knight175 - July 2nd, 2008 at 10:20 pm
£18 million is not too much for an England International at the top of his game, captain of the club and a “Prized asset”. Villa have every right to set the price they think fair and have said Barry can go if the price is right. Liverpool have messed this up not MON by trying to force MON’s hand in letting him go for less. Id like to see how liverpool fans would react if a club treated them with as little respect as Benitez has shown Oneill in this whole saga….
Barry is the type of player who loves to play football. Champions league might be attracting to him but Liverpool rotate their squad. Does he really think his England career is going to skyrocket just because he is wearing a red shirt on the bench? Grass isnt always greener I think and he might just come to regret it if Villa carry on developing the way they are at the moment!
redfanred - July 2nd, 2008 at 10:25 pm
18 m is jus too much. I think he’s genuinely worth 13m max.
Red Knight - July 2nd, 2008 at 10:57 pm
It seems that every villa fans think the their mom has done right in outting a person’s career to rot just and that’s fair play? What has Benitez and Liverpool done wrong and disrespectful to villa? Liverpool put in a bid value that they feel is right for a good player (fullstop). Yes, villa may valued Barry alot like Gerrard is to Liverpool or Ronaldo is to Man U. However, that may not be the same for Barry to other club though he may be a good player. As far as we have read from the papers, only o’neill has been squiming and behaving like a baby and making all sort of comments that are disrespectful to others. It is a shame that villa fans are getting over their head to think that they are in the winning way. Liverpool can just leave it and you will be left with a extremely unhappy player. Yes you can let him rot. Put yourself in his shoe if your boss let you rot just because you are pursuing your dreams else where. He will eventually sit out his contract and goes without villa earning a single cent.
Ramon - July 3rd, 2008 at 2:59 am
Actually Both Xabi and Gareth are good players. The reason Rafa choose Barry over Xabi is that Barry can add more stability in the midfield and let SG roam behind Torres. Apart from that in terms of morale, having Barry will increase SG confidence and that is another point for us to consider. Barry can also take over SG role in the dead ball situations. I think it is worth it. i hope the tranfers can be soted out soon.
Koparoma - July 3rd, 2008 at 4:46 am
It amazes me all the stupid comments that Liverpool has somehow “disrespected” Villa or MON…
Liverpool has made no secret that they wanted the player - but the original approach was leaked to the Birmingham press by someone at AV. Then Benitez and the club did not deny their interest in response to questions from the press. So where is the disrespect??
LFC made a reasonable initial offer for a 28 year old player who was on record as saying that he wanted to leave - and for whom there is NO other bidder.
Come on, if any other club outside the top 4 had come in for him - they’d have offered £6m tops!! All this ManU paid X for Carrick is not “proof” of his worth - look at all the other midfielders who transferred in the last season or two… how many change hands at £18m???
But now he’s suddenly the best player in England… yeah sure. England have played 98 games since he was first capped in May 2000 - he’s featured in 20 of them mostly as a substitute (1108 minutes and scored one goal in a mickey-mouse friendly). He’s good, but let’s not kid ourselves… Ask yourself, how much would MON be willing to pay for him?? Yeah, I thought so. This is all normal commercial negotiations - just MON is overplaying the moral outrage card.
Really the only disrespect shown has been by MON to a player that has given great service to his club. He wasn’t happy when MON arrived but stayed anyway. He has made no secret of his wish to go to a bigger club. MON’s response - slap a ridiculous fee on him (you know that’s the case); cancel his testimonial (what happens if he stays eh??); ponce off on holidays and then to the Euros; and conduct his discussions with his captain through the press. Barry’s comments were accurate.
Man management is not one of his skills is it now???
MON is a hypocrite. He has not “wanted” Barry - since he thought he could get some big money. AV should have dealt with Barry’s “request” with some class.
LFC sold Milan Baros to AV at a £1m lower price than they were offered elsewhere - because he wanted to go there.
MON is displaying Little Man Syndrome. It’s a done deal - shut up and quickly work out a price. You won’t like the alternative.
daboy - July 3rd, 2008 at 5:51 am
Barry is crap give me Vandervaart anyday i wouldnt give more than 5 mill for him because all he will do is warm the bench myself id spend a few hundred on a seat warmer better value.
Jon - July 3rd, 2008 at 6:16 am
If you can’t afford Barry, fuck off.
daly - July 3rd, 2008 at 7:16 am
koparoma, ur talkin a load of balls…
baros was nowhere near a star player for the pool they way barry has been for villa…
and as for u sayin how much wud MON pay for barry??? thats beside the point u knob, he paid over the odds last season for ashley young BECAUSE HE HAD TO to get his man, and that arrogant prick benitez is gonna hav to do the same….
and one more ting-since wen do scousers take heed of anythin put in the sunday scum???
jobo - July 3rd, 2008 at 7:59 am
I may be in the minority here but I would love Liverpool to offload Xabi for Barry. Xabi just can’t cut it for me. He averages 2 goals a season and no more than 3/4 assists. That is abominable for any central midfielder and is a prime reason for why our title challenge lasts 3/4 months - tops.
Gareth Barry and Ste Gerrard playing just infront of Masch - that would be awesome. The steele and determination of those players will turn our draws into wins.
Why Liverpool fans cannot see this - amazes me !
Fork out for Barry and Keane. Imagine a 4-3-3 with Babbel and Keane playin just behind Torres - as well as the steel of the 3 midfielders, Barry, Gerrard and Masch.
david - July 3rd, 2008 at 8:44 am
Jobo,
Bang on, you will have such a complete midfield with Barry.
The yanks should get behind your manager!
Gibbons the hoop - July 3rd, 2008 at 9:00 am
Jobo, you made a complete team with that Formation. Barry and Steve G we all know are an amazing partnership and It’s the G man that probably told Rafa to buy him. I wouldn’t be suprised because of the interview G had and he talked about Barry almost the whole interview. They obv know each others game inside out. being captins for there teams is probably how they know each other well cause both have been playing against each other since they both made first team as Barry plays Left side of the centre and G plays right side of the centre. Also if Dossena and arbeola get injured you’ve got a Lb in Barry. I will miss you so much Barry thanks for the memories. Just gutted youre leaving with a bad taste in youre mouth. Miss you so much
scouser - July 3rd, 2008 at 10:31 am
RedTilDead - July 3rd, 2008 at 12:42 pm
Personally I don’t blame MON for trying to hold out for what he can get, but he doesn’t show himself as being a man with class, fining Barry and trying to humiliate him publicly is not the way to make many friends. At one time people were talking about MON as being a possible Liverpool manager, perhaps the man has now swapped the green of Celtic for the green of envy!
reikirebel - July 3rd, 2008 at 1:50 pm
Its a shame this has come down to disrespecting each other …. needs to STOP now!!!!
It doesn’t matter how much Barry will cost to bring to LFC, thats for the business people to sort and they do like a drama …..
AV fans, please stop the “you can’t afford him” LFC spent over 70m on players last year and its expected they will spend over 50m this summer … but we didn’t over spend on any of our buys last summer and thats the style of our manager! Yep there is a difference in value but thats for the people who set price tags and just so you understand …. its not normally the manager who sets the price, he will get involved but thats a board decision ….
We do understand the feeling, chelsea are prepared to pay a lot of money for torres, but he has said he is staying …. it just seems stupid that we are falling out over something WE have no control over
Good luck to AV next season, have a goin!!!
Reikirebel
BD - July 3rd, 2008 at 3:01 pm
No we should pull out now , he is a good player worth no more then 12M.
Jobo, look at the stats last season, we had a good start, Alonso got injured, we had a poor mid third and when Alonso came back we picked up more points then Manu and C. Taking the stats if we had the same points / games ration for the whole season as for when Alonsa played we would have either won the PL or be within one two points. I know that stats are not everything but the facts of points per game is easy to understand and it was over 2/3 of the season and not just a couple of games.
Alonso is far superior and will do well with a striker like Torres and good quality wingers, hitten them early from deep in the pitch. Barry could offer versatility which is good but he will not pick out Torres frokm 60/70 yards, neither will SG consistently do this but pushed up or pushed wide he will create chances and score himself. What we need is good fast wingers that can both create and score and a second quaity striker that can play with or stand in for Torres.
There is no proof yet that these two full backs are any good, people speak as if they are guaranteed top quality, this worries me as they did not feature in Euro 2008 when both had poor teams.
My feeling with Barry , did not shine until recently (last 2 years) is now 28 (or close) and may be over his peak already. Alonso on the other hand is class and is 26, 4 to 6 excellent years in him.
Alonso Fan - July 3rd, 2008 at 3:02 pm
No , let MON deal with unhappy player depreciating faster then a luxary car., we should pull out now , he is a good player worth no more then 12M.
Jobo, look at the stats last season, we had a good start, Alonso got injured, we had a poor mid third and when Alonso came back we picked up more points then Manu and C. Taking the stats if we had the same points / games ration for the whole season as for when Alonsa played we would have either won the PL or be within one two points. I know that stats are not everything but the facts of points per game is easy to understand and it was over 2/3 of the season and not just a couple of games.
Alonso is far superior and will do well with a striker like Torres and good quality wingers, hitten them early from deep in the pitch. Barry could offer versatility which is good but he will not pick out Torres frokm 60/70 yards, neither will SG consistently do this but pushed up or pushed wide he will create chances and score himself. What we need is good fast wingers that can both create and score and a second quaity striker that can play with or stand in for Torres.
There is no proof yet that these two full backs are any good, people speak as if they are guaranteed top quality, this worries me as they did not feature in Euro 2008 when both had poor teams.
My feeling with Barry , did not shine until recently (last 2 years) is now 28 (or close) and may be over his peak already. Alonso on the other hand is class and is 26, 4 to 6 excellent years in him.
Josh - July 3rd, 2008 at 4:21 pm
Why is Martin ONeil confusing this move Gareth Barry clearly wants a move to a bigger club he will never play for Villa again after all this so why dont oneil get it over and dun with, hes being so childish .I would do 16m take it or leave it
hemanta - July 3rd, 2008 at 5:53 pm
18 mil!! you got to be kidding!!He’s no way near that mark.my advise : take that cash and spend it plus a phenant for david silva or phenant + 5 or 6 mil for joaquin. either of them can solve the winger crisis.and then we have to off load kyut (if he is playing as a winger) because he don’t even come near as a winger. we can buy someone of real winger quality with that money and bable and partner up to torress in front and crouch as reserve should just do it .that will not require much money and the team will be more effective that way.P.S. gerrard should never be played as a winger that’s loss of potential .
knight175 - July 3rd, 2008 at 6:20 pm
All this “I would do this” and “I would do that” - thats why you aren’t all managers!
Villa can set any price they want (Just as Liverpool could set a high price if someone came in for Gerrard), they are the selling club and he is their player who is worth THEIR money. Regardless of what people think of his valuation, if liverpool want him then thats the price they need to pay. I dont see how O’neill can make that clearer? Oh and holding out for £3m is not childish…?
I wonder if Barry has considered for a second that MON has other things to deal with at the moment such as preparing other transfer deals on INCOMING players as opposed to comforting a player who has made it clear he wants to leave and has decided to go public. O’neill was at Euro 08 to look at possible new signings perhaps? I for one am glad that our manager is looking ahead rather than squabbling with Liverpool.
Oneill - ” Gareth has pointed out he wants to go and if Liverpool come up and meet our valuation, he will go” - Thats pretty clear for me, how about u? Confusing still??
Ben - July 3rd, 2008 at 6:37 pm
Money right yes, money to much no…. simple!!!
Messiah - July 3rd, 2008 at 7:25 pm
Best signing of the summer? It’s anything but, he’s just an average midfielder, no better than Alonso, he’s just English and nothing special.