£27 Million pounds is a lot of money, a hell of a lot of money, and if Rafa Benitez wants his man he may need to adopt the prison lunch mentality if Gillett and Hicks have finally opened the purse strings – spend the money before it’s snatched away. Chelsea were conned into given AC Milan £30m for Shevchenko so maybe on that scale something around £300m for the Atletico Madrid striker would still seem fair,
Sky Sports have reported
Atletico Madrid president Enrique Cerezo is understood to have told potential suitors they will have to pay the £27million release clause in his contract to land him.
There are suggestions a delegation from Liverpool has been in the Spanish capital looking to tie up a deal before other clubs can muscle in but the two parties are not thought to be close to an agreement. Manchester United and Chelsea are also believed to be monitoring movements, according to press reports. Uncertainty over the transfer funds available to Rafael Benitez may force the Reds boss to look at a player-plus-cash deal in order to land the world-class striker he covets.
After failing to qualify for the Uefa Cup next season, Atletico may be prepared to cash in on Torres in spite of their efforts over the last couple of years to hang on to their prized asset.
But the main question is really whether Fernando Torres is really the best use of 27 million pounds? Liverpool have a good squad but Tottenham, thanks to a bit of scouting, picked up Dimitar Berbatov for half that and Benitez’s side still needs strengthening in other areas. In fact, to many neutrals the strikers probably seemed like the last place Liverpool needed some big-money help. The other side of the coin is the fact that any player, no matter how talented, becomes an immediate gamble at that price. If Anfield’s new American owners have been conservative with giving Rafa megabucks to spend up till now, how would they react if their first massive outlay was anything short of sensational?
For Benitez, a man whose footballing vision on the pitch is one of safety first, may want to adopt a similar approach off it.