£8.5 million Spanish midfielder lands in Liverpool for medical: Could provide the Reds with the width they need
by stresster on August 29th, 2008
| 251 words |
They tried all summer to land Gareth Barry, but Aston Villa just wouldn’t play ball with the Anfield club, demanding a fee that was too rich for the blood of Messrs Hicks and Gillett. However, it appears as though that difficult left-side of midfield position will be bolstered by this latest arrival. Yet another Spaniard is set to sign for Liverpool!
Setanta report that Rafael Benitez has fended off interest from Everton and virtually sealed the deal to bring Albert Riera to the club. This should give him another option and potentially the width that many supporters have been craving. The team have been lamented for trying to play the ball through the middle of the park, but will the Espanyol player change this?
Espanyol have confirmed Albert Riera is currently on his way to Merseyside to complete his transfer to Liverpool.
The former Manchester City loanee has long been the target of Rafa Benitez, and is expected to complete a deal worth in the region of £8.5 million.
Espanyol’s official website revealed neither Riera nor Pablo Zabaleta trained on Friday, with Zabaleta joining his team-mate on the plane to England in order to sign for Manchester City.
Certainly a cheaper option for Pool than Barry and they are both the same age, which will please Benitez. While Riera might take some time to bed in, is this a signing which excites Liverpool fans? The midfielder has represented Spain on five occasions and might now find himself regularly linking up with compatriots Alonso and Torres.
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Tagged Under: Albert Riera, liverpool fc, rafael benitez
charlie - August 29th, 2008 at 2:14 pm
Ha Ha!
He wasnt all that at Man City..
Another average spaniard at Anfield.
Up the Villa!
cat - August 29th, 2008 at 2:15 pm
Charlie
It will be Up the Villa when end of next season and you ONLY get £2million for him
Bilbo Baggins - August 29th, 2008 at 2:16 pm
Another average Spaniard at Anfiled Charlie ? Coz Torres, Reina and Alonso are average arent they ?
Down the Villa U turd !
Bilbo Baggins - August 29th, 2008 at 2:16 pm
well said Cat ! I hate Villa
wing - August 29th, 2008 at 2:19 pm
would have preferred Milner
Anonymous - August 29th, 2008 at 2:34 pm
up yours wooly backs
Anonymous - August 29th, 2008 at 2:39 pm
Hahaa another average Spaniard.. I’m soryy who are ya? Do u watch english football?
Pepe 3 years golden glove award.. oh yeah hes spanish btw..
Torres 1st season at Liverpool 2nd top goal scorer behind one of the best if no THE best players in the world..
Alonso hmm wanted by an awful lot of GOOD clubs, i.e not Villa..
It will be more like Up YOU Villa at the end of your top of the bottom half of the table struggle.. =)
Big Red - August 29th, 2008 at 2:46 pm
£18m for a utility player, dream on!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
If you want to see a real £18m player watch Masch
Liverpool FC News - August 29th, 2008 at 3:00 pm
Welcome to Liverpool, Albert.
Walk On.
Malteser - August 29th, 2008 at 3:13 pm
He got 2 eyes at the back of his head
Go youtube and you know what I mean
YNWA
pat - August 29th, 2008 at 3:24 pm
come on… RIERA buy won’t be enough.. SIGN kuba or milner or even downing before the transfer deadline close..!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Josh - August 29th, 2008 at 3:46 pm
Villa are nowere near as good as Liverpool, Liverpool have got better players in evry positon bar 1 or 2. Reina better than Freidel. Arbeloa better than Young. Carra better than Laursen. Agger and Skrtel better than Davies and Cueller. Dossena better than Shorey. Babel better than Petrov. Gerrard better than NRC. Masch better than Barry. Young is better than Kuyt/Benayoun. Torres better than Agbonglahor. Keane better than Carew. That is why we are in the top 4 evry year and your not!.
Dave - August 29th, 2008 at 4:37 pm
I am a Liverpool fan but honestley the only people i hate at Villa are their fans very fickle. MON has set his price and we failed to meet it .
Alex - August 29th, 2008 at 6:41 pm
He doesn’t look like such a bad signing, considering his price. At least Rafa is working on bringing in widemen. Luis Garcia worked out to be a fantastic player for us and i was sad to see him go. If this guy can be like luis but more consistent, then it looks like we’ve bagged a bargain.
Ideally i woulda wanted one of Quaresma, Silva, Van de Vaart, Kuba, Robben(?), Young etc. But who wouldnt? we are one of the best teams in europe, we should be associated with these types of players, except the fucking board is ruining everything. As soon as they go, we will spend, because the money is there, theyre just giving benitez access to it, like they would only give him 12m for barry, but nevermind! Lets just hope Keane and Riera have stunning first seasons at the club, gerrard and torres stay fit and continue on last seasons form, and that babel grows into the player that we all know he is capable of becomming, he is so similar to henry, we just need him to realise it and start performing!
kermit - August 29th, 2008 at 6:58 pm
dunno i watched riera footage on youtube lots of skill but not too much fnal product could well be another average spaniard but i hope not still wondeirn why he didnt bid for schweinsteiger or and podolski
dibbler - August 29th, 2008 at 7:10 pm
I wish we could go for a top rate wide man but i think timing and money are a stumbling block at the minute but as i say and will say it again “In Rafa we trust”
He as obviously improved since playing for man city or we would not be buying him and at city he did not quite have the quality of torres,keane or gerrard to cross to did he?
jebote - August 30th, 2008 at 2:09 am
decent signing. but at the end of the day with different owners we could’ve gooten a lot better. i don’t know where they got the 8.5 million price tag from. the price tag i had been receiving from various was more like 12.5 million.
just hope it is 8.5million cause he isn’t worth 12.5 in my opinion. oh well. we will see how he goes this season. hopefully he suprises me this year and provides the flair and creativity on the flanks that we need.
bestwick - August 30th, 2008 at 8:41 am
I Think Riera Will Be A Brilliant Signing He Will Provide Crosses Into The Box Which Robbie Kean Needs To Start His Goal Scoring And Torres Could Do With Some Decent Balls In As well He Cant Do Everything Himself Think About How Tottenham Play Allways Crossing The Ball Into The Box And Kean Always Scored We Try To Play Down The Middle To Much And Benitez Is Right In Buying Riera Barry Would Have Been A Mistake Because Alonso Is Well Better Than Him As Shown In Preseason Oh Yea And As For Average Spanish Players Just Remember Who Won Euro 2008 And Who Scored The Winning Goal
bestwick - August 30th, 2008 at 8:51 am
i think this will be the season liverpool win the premiership and the champions league because what we have now is a team what aint even in second gear yet never mind 5th and we still keep pulling off a win you wait till riera kean babbel torres gerrard alonso these quality players just go on and on and there all mach winners so bring it on villa you havent got a chance youll never see the champions league or fourth spot but you will be seeing the mighty liverpool breaking into that top position ‘in rafa we trust”
mark - August 30th, 2008 at 8:59 am
to be honest ,don’t know much about riera. so i’ll have to wait and see if he is any good, but i can’t help but feel why (if it was true) we didn’t sell kuyt to hamburg for around 12m(16m is stupid no one would pay that) and get a better quality winger who actually can offer us some width. as for the barry isn’t as good as alonso thing, i think that is completely false, alonso did have a good pre season, but in the games i have watched this season, and the whole of last, alonso has been shocking, far too slow and his passing isn’t all what it used to be.
rajiv - August 30th, 2008 at 11:35 am
zis guy is a value for money purchase.hes got gud dribbling skills n can score goals.go on youtube n have a watch.btw villa disgusting……………………….
elninoT9 - August 30th, 2008 at 1:50 pm
the only thing i dont like about villa is they are stubborn, martin o neill was the same at celtic, he wud giv a player a price tag and if the team cudnt come up with the money the player wudn be leaving.
they hav built a good team and out of evry one outside the top four they are the strongest, i hav to admit i am a big fan of ashley young and gabbi agbonlahor, but i think liverpool will beat them on sunday. people say that without gerrard we are not as good but in the past we hav played wel without him , look at last season without gerrard we scored six against derby, and alryt villa arent as bad as derby but thier defence is quite weak an liverpool hav probly the best strkiers in the league so we shud manage a few goals.
the kops - August 30th, 2008 at 1:51 pm
team against villa:
reina
arbeloa carra agger dossena
babel lucas masch riera
keano nando
Subs: cavalieri, skrtel, alonso, kuyt, el zhar, plessis, n’gog
Donavan Ried - August 30th, 2008 at 1:56 pm
jebote - August 30th, 2008 at 2:09 am “decent signing. But at the end of the day with different owners we could’ve gotten a lot better” ……….I don’t think this signing is all down to the owners, Parry was there somewhere. I think they told Rafa to buy a winger, as the consensus is that’s what Liverpool needs a left winger.
Besides If I came to YOU every season and kept saying… “We need this player, he is the final piece in the jigsaw” and every year we kept struggling to mount a challenge wouldn’t you start to question the man who was managing your club regardless of what you know or don’t know about football?…… I would…….
Throw in the fact he is buying in players only to be selling them two years or so down the line…..and add this last thing to the mix…
They (The Yanks, Hicks and Gillette) must be sitting there looking across at the other Yanks (Glazer & Co) and their manager at Man Utd (Alex Ferguson) and thinking…. “We should have brought Man Utd. We would have gotten a manager and a club who knows what they are doing, that show ambition and are going somewhere”
Hicks is trying to make the club a success again, and regardless of what some might say he has put his own money into the club. But in order to do this everybody needs to put their weight. And I’m afraid that Parry and Rafa are not.
Gillette. He was only ever interested in turning a quick buck off of Liverpool. The sooner we are rid of him the better.
Josh - August 30th, 2008 at 3:24 pm
It was funny seeing all Villa fans change their opinion on Barry from “We dont need him he is getting worse” to “i am so glad he staying he is the heartbeat of are team. They are pathetic saying they are top 4 material HAHA. Anyway 3-1 win tommorow Torres 2 and Keane
bestwick - August 30th, 2008 at 3:49 pm
i think we will win 3 - 1 torres kean and babel and barry will get there’s just because he’s gutted we didnt rescue him from that pathetic little t*** martin o neil we will win the title riera is the missing link.
bestwick - August 30th, 2008 at 3:56 pm
i think we should all forget about the owners and consentrate on the title thats how we will win stop putting extra pressure on the team and they will come all good take man united for instance if they draw or loose they dont blame there manager or owners remember you cant win them all unless we stop rippin the owners then we might have a chance
Stevey - August 31st, 2008 at 1:42 pm
Aston Villa will never win the league or European cup ever again.
End of,
haha.
Stevey - August 31st, 2008 at 2:36 pm
Sorry Villa fans ignore my last comment above i think you will make the top four easily, you are great and will win the European cup and the league very soon.
Bottom line i am sweat from a baboons balls and like men.
BD1 - October 6th, 2008 at 2:37 pm
Josh - Arbeloa better than Young
You lost all credibility with that remark. He’s not even better than Luke Young.
Uncle Necky - October 6th, 2008 at 2:58 pm
Why is it so ridiculous to claim Arbeloa is better then Young?
One is in the Spanish squad, the other can’t get in the England squad.