Liverpool and Chelsea remain locked in a battle over wantaway striker Fernando Torres, with the Merseyside club demanding at least £50M to let him go and Chelsea deciding whether or not to meet that figure. With Roman Abramovich at the helm and a clear fan of Torres, anything could happen. Meanwhile, Liverpool appear to be planning ways in which to spend their hypothetical fortune. With Luis Suarez already in the fold for the tidy sum of £23M, the club is also after Blackpool midfielder Charlie Adam as well as Aston Villa's iconic Ashley Young.
Will Liverpool Use Fernando Torres Sale To Fund Huge Shopping Spree?
Adam, the centrepiece of Blackpool’s exciting passing game, will not come cheap, and Ian Holloway has resisted numerous bids in the £4M range for the Scottish midfielder. However, with Adam handing in a transfer request, it looks as though an increased offer could pry him away from the Tangerines, although Liverpool may have to bid up to £10M for Blackpool to consider offloading their star player, transfer demand or no*.
Meanwhile, rumours persist that Liverpool have been in talks with Aston Villa over winger/withdrawn forward Ashley Young. The Telegraph has reported that the Reds offered £12M for the 25 year old midfielder but were rebuffed by Villa, who have surged up the table following the £24M signing of Darren Bent and may not be keen to jeopardise their progress by offloading one of their most valuable assets in the January window. Liverpool will have to increase their bid to around £18M to have much chance of landing Young, whose contract expires in 18 months.
If Liverpool really are preparing to spend Torres’ transfer fee immediately, they’ll have to have deals worked out with Blackpool and Villa in advance so that there’s enough time to get them pushed through if Torres does go to Stamford Bridge. It’s now clear that Torres is the key to the fortunes of more than just Liverpool and Chelsea - the question of whether he stays or goes may have a massive impact on teams all over the Premier League.
*And if you’re seeing parallels between this and the Fernando Torres situation, you’re not alone.
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