Monthly Archives: June 2013

Liverpool confirm agreement to sign Iago Aspas

The Celta Vigo forward will arrive at Anfield as the Reds’ second recruit of the summer, “subject to documentation being completed”, following his Wednesday medical

Liverpool have announced a deal has been agreed “in principle” to sign forward Iago Aspas from Celta Vigo.

The 25-year-old will officially become a Reds player “subject to documentation being completed”.

Aspas is understood to have completed a medical on Wednesday, after which his agent and brother, Jonathan, confirmed that “only bureaucratic issues remain unresolved”.

The departing Celestes star, who can play as a centre forward or on the flanks, is believed to have cost Liverpool £7 million after an impressive season in a struggling team.

Aspas scored 12 goals in La Liga as Celta narrowly avoided relegation from the Spanish top flight.

The striker becomes Brendan Rodgers’s second acquisition of the summer, following the arrival of Kolo Toure on a free transfer from Manchester City.

Betting Special: Could Suarez catch Real Madrid’s eye with the Confederations Cup Golden Boot?

The Liverpool striker has been eyeing up a move to the Spanish capital and Al Hain-Cole expects him to use the tournament in Brazil to put himself in a shop window

The Confederations Cup kicks off in Brazil on Saturday, providing fans with a taster for next summer’s World Cup and the players an opportunity to consolidate their chances of appearing at the main event in one year’s time.

As ever, the best way of grabbing the headlines is by scoring goals, and Brazil prodigy Neymar, who has just sealed a big money move to Barcelona, is BetVictor’s current 8/1 (9.00) favourite to hit the back of the net most often in front of his adoring fans.

However, the hosts’ Group A opponents of Mexico, Japan and Italy will provide stern opposition, meaning the latest Camp Nou signing and his strike partner Fred, priced at 10/1 (11.00) may struggle to add significantly to their impressive international goal tallies.

On the other hand, Tahiti and Nigeria should offer less resistance to Spain and Uruguay, whose forwards could be forgiven for licking their lips in anticipation.

Luis Suarez’s flirtation with Real Madrid has not been reciprocated so far, but a Golden Boot in Brazil would go a long way to sealing his dream move to the Spanish capital. A record of one goal every two games for his country demonstrates his deadliness.

The Liverpool striker is currently serving a long ban from club football, so will be extra determined to show his worth for La Celeste, and odds of 9/1 (10.00) are well worth backing on a man with five goals in his last five starts.

Suarez was suspended for the vital recent win over Venezuela, when Edinson Cavani grabbed the goal, and the in demand Napoli man is available at 12/1 (13.00) to outscore his competitors.

Spain’s tiki-taka tactics mean goals are usually shared around the team, while Vicente Del Bosque’s rotation policy may hinder both record goalscorer David Villa 9/1 (10.00) and Fernando Torres’ 10/1 (11.00) chances of filling their boots.

Mario Balotelli has been reborn with 12 goals in 13 appearances for AC Milan since returning to Serie A, and the livewire striker is Italy’s bright hope at 14/1 (15.00) to finish as top scorer.

Despite his regular role as a substitute, Javier Hernandez still managed 18 goals for Manchester United this season, and his awesome record of 30 goals in 52 internationals makes the Mexico talisman hard to ignore at 16/1 (17.00).


Sign up with Bet Victor for a free £25 bet

Al Hain-Cole is a Liverpool fan, experienced tipster and avid follower of European football. He specialises in accumulators and if you would like to read more from Al you can follow him on Twitter here.

Follow GoalBetting on

‘We didn’t expect all that quality’ – Zaha reflects on poor European Under-21 Championship

The Manchester United forward is adamant the Young Lions gave their all, but just fell short where it mattered after crashing out with defeats in all three group games

England Under-21 forward Wilfried Zaha says he was not expecting such a high quality of opposition after their disappointing exit from the European Championship.

Stuart Pearce’s side crashed out of the tournament, finishing bottom of their group after losing all three of their matches and failing to score a goal in open play, leading to criticism of the players by the Young Lions coach.

But Zaha, who joins Manchester United this summer, is adamant the players gave all they could but just could not produce.

“We didn’t expect all that quality,” the 20-year-old told the Daily Telegraph.

“It’s not to do with effort. There was no-one who didn’t try hard enough. Maybe we weren’t used to playing in tournament games under so much pressure. Every time we pull on the shirt, we try hard.

“I can’t really blame my performances on a long season. When I play, I just give it my all, 100 per cent. I had a little niggle but just ran through it.”

Pearce bemoaned the lack of young stars such as Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Phil Jones and Danny Welbeck, who have all featured heavily in the senior squad, but Zaha rejected suggestions the coach’s complaints affected the players’ confidence.

“It never really made any difference,” he added.

“If the gaffer thinks there’s a couple of players who could have improved the team, there’s nothing we can do about it, we can just try our hardest.”

Liverpool defender Andre Wisdom, who captained the Young Lions in the defeat to Israel, hinted that the players found it hard to perform under the weight of expectation but is determined to turn things around.

“Expectation is always high and you have to perform when you pull on this shirt,’’ he said.

“We can’t let it happen again.”