Monthly Archives: January 2014

Liverpool bid for Konoplyanka on verge of collapse

The Ukraine midfielder is keen on a move to Anfield but the Reds are struggling to agree a fee and his agent has admitted a move is “very unlikely”

By Jonathan Birchall

Liverpool’s deadline day move for Yevhen Konoplyanka is on the brink of collapse after the player’s agent admitted a deal is “very unlikely”, Goal can reveal.

The Reds opened negotiations after Ian Ayre flew out to Ukraine earlier this week but are struggling to agree a fee for the 24-year-old winger before Friday’s 11pm deadline. 

As revealed by Goal, the left-sided attacker has set his heart on a move to Liverpool after Tottenham pulled out of a deal, but Dnipro are keen to secure a sale for as close to their £20m valuation as possible.

But Oliver Cabrera, who owns OML Sports & Marketing, the company Konoplyanka is signed to, told Goal: “We have a very good relationship with the president [Ihor] Kolomoyskyi and he doesn’t want to sell the player.”

“Yehven and his father respect that so a move is very unlikely.”

Cabrera is one of the main parties negotiating the deal from his base in Stockholm, and did insist that the proposed transfer has not collapsed completely.

Liverpool are desperate to force the move through after being gazumped by Chelsea in their atempts to sign Mohamed Salah from Basel.

Tottenham pulled out of the race to sign Konoplyanka after Tim Sherwood had concerns over how well the Ukraine international would adapt to the Premier League

“There’s obviously an interest in the player but there’s no update,” Brendan Rodgers said at his Friday press conference.

“The staff over there have done brilliant work with regards to trying to get the player.

“But we need to see how that develops over the course of the day. It’s all happened so quickly and the deadline is tight.

“We’ve had a list with a number of players on it, so we’ll see how it develops later.”

Dnipro dig heels in over Liverpool bid for Konoplyanka

The Ukraine midfielder is keen on a move to Anfield but the Reds are struggling to agree a fee with his side as Friday evening’s deadline approaches

By Jonathan Birchall

Liverpool’s attempts to sign Yehven Konoplyanka are ongoing as the club struggles to reach a deal with Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk.

The Reds opened negotiations after Ian Ayre flew out to Ukraine on Thursday but are struggling to agree a fee for the 24-year-old winger before Friday’s 11pm deadline. 

As revealed by Goal, the left-sided attacker has set his heart on a move to Liverpool after Tottenham pulled out of a deal, but Dnipro are keen to secure a sale for as close to their £20m valuation as possible.

“We are still working but the problems aren’t coming from the player,” Konoplyanka’s agent Oliver Cabrera told Goal on Friday. “The club don’t want to sell him at the moment.

“We aren’t sure about whether we will find a solution but we are working.”

Liverpool are desperate to force the move through after being gazumped by Chelsea in their atempts to sign Mohamed Salah from Basel earlier this week.

Tottenham pulled out of the race to sign Konoplyanka after Tim Sherwood had concerns over how well the Ukraine international would adapt to the Premier League

“I think we will hopefully do something over the next couple of days,” said Rodgers earlier this week.

“Hopefully we can have a major signing before the window shuts and if we can do that we will be set up for the remaining games.”

Gerrard confident of adjusting to new Liverpool role

The captain believes he can play in a number of different positions but admits the deep-lying midfield approach is a change from his usual box-to-box style of play

Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard is confident of making a success of the new defensive midfield role assigned to him by manager Brendan Rodgers.

The England skipper took up the new position in the league games against Stoke and Aston Villa and although the Reds collected four points, they also conceded five goals.

Gerrard then impressed in the 4-0 thrashing of Everton, however, and despite having played in a more attacking role for much of his career, insists he is capable of contributing from a deeper position.

“Previously, I’ve been trying to get from box to box,” he told the club’s official website. “But the new role is more about control and organising the people in front of me.

“It’s a different position to the one that I’ve played for the last 12 or 15 years. I know that with time and work on the training pitch, I can get it right because I believe I can play in a number of positions.”

The 33-year-old expressed his delight at the nature of the Reds’ Merseyside derby victory over Everton and believes Roberto Martinez’s team were lucky to escape having conceded only four goals.

“I’ve got to be honest; I thought it was going to be a really cagey affair,” he admitted. “I thought maybe one goal either way would have decided it. But the way we played, I thought it could have been even more.”