The Sunderland striker has ruled out a potential permanent switch to Wearside and stated that he hopes he has proven he is ready for first-team football at Anfield next season

Sunderland loanee Fabio Borini has ruled out a permanent move to the club, stating he has his sights on a first-team berth at Liverpool.
The 22-year-old has been at the Stadium of Light since the beginning of September, scoring three goals in 19 appearances in all competitions for the Premier League strugglers.

But, despite being a regular under Gus Poyet, Borini has no intention of remaining on Wearside beyond the end of his current agreement.

“It would be nice to go back there (to Liverpool) as a Premier League player and to have shown them that even in a hard situation I can do well,” he said.

“I’ve achieved one of my objectives here at Sunderland of playing every week, but to play for big teams like Liverpool, you don’t just need to perform well.

“As a striker you need to score goals. You can perform well, but at the end of the season people count your goals.

“I needed to prove to myself first that I can play here because I’ve never had a long spell playing in England but now I’m getting a long run of games.”

However, the Italian, whose previous clubs include Chelsea and Roma, insists his immediate goal is to aid Sunderland’s fight against relegation.

“The main aim is to stay up, we can’t think about going down. With my confidence on the rise, hopefully I can help us in that aim,” he added.

Sunderland sit 19th in the English top flight, but have lost just one of their last six league fixtures.

The Ghana midfielder is keen for a move to Anfield but admitted that Udinese have received no formal approach from the club over his services

EXCLUSIVE
By Ed Aarons

Ghana midfielder Emmanuel Agyemang-Badu has admitted he would welcome a move to Liverpool but denied they have made an offer to Udinese.

Italian media has reported that Liverpool officials have made firm enquiries about the 23-year-old holding midfielder who has won more than 40 caps for the Black Stars.

Brendan Rodgers is keen to add reinforcements to his squad as they chase a top-four finish, however, despite admitting that he would jump at the opportunity to move to Merseyside, Agyemang-Badu has yet to be informed of any concrete interest.

“I have not heard anything from my agent – at the moment it is all speculation,” he told Goal.

“We will have to see what happens in the next two weeks because it has always been my dream to play in England.

“We played against Liverpool in the Europa League last year so I know all about them. They are a really good team who have been performing well this season and I would be very happy to join them.

“I’m settled in Italy but the chance to play for such a big club is something I couldn’t pass up.”

Signed by Udinese as a 19-year-old, Agyemang-Badu has been in and out of the team this season having started only eight Serie A matches.

But Rodgers is thought to be a long-term admirer having tried to buy him when he was at Swansea.

The Brazilian is celebrating a year at Anfield in January having left Inter during the 2013 winter transfer window, but has netted just twice so far this season

Liverpool midfielder Philippe Coutinho has targeted an improvement to his goal return to help the club clinch a place in the Champions League.

The Brazil international is approaching his one-year anniversary at the club, having made the switch from Inter for a reported €10.25 million in the previous January transfer window.

Coutinho has become a firm favourite among the Anfield faithful for his direct attacking style of play, but the 21-year-old has only scored two league goals this season and is keen to add to his tally in the second half of the campaign.

When asked by the club’s official website where he can improve, he said: “My goalscoring, for sure. Sometimes my positioning is not the best and I need to improve that to score more goals.

“I want to continue improving and look forward to working harder and harder on what I need to do to be considered a great player.

“We are quite confident. Our thought is to win every match and start every match doing our best in this battle, and we have to carry on this way.

“Our aim is to be within the first four places at the end of the season and we will try our best to keep ourselves up there.”

Coutinho also praised his team-mates for making his transition to the Premier League easy.

He added: “It’s a year that went very quickly, and I am living in a very happy moment.

“What surprised me most was the way the players are made to feel at home, and I am grateful to the city, my team-mates and the club for the way I was received.”