Fowler hails Torres coup

Robbie Fowler has tipped Fernando Torres to be 'a great player' for Liverpool as the Atletico Madrid striker reportedly closes on a move to Anfield.
Reports in Spain claim that the Atletico captain has cut short his holiday to finalise a club record switch to the UEFA Champions League finalists.
And Kop idol Fowler is hoping that Torres could be a key figure in Liverpool ending a 17-year wait for the title.
"His record is 82 goals in 200 games for Atletico, I think," Fowler told Sky Sports News. "His record has been fantastic in Spain.
"He has scored goals for his country as well. I think he'll be a great player for Liverpool.
"To be honest I'm a Liverpool fan and I hope he brings the championship to Liverpool.
"Since I've been playing, we've never won that, and as I said before I'm a fan, so I want Liverpool to win everything.
"Players signing of this calibre will only help the club to get in a position where they can challenge for titles."
Fowler also feels that Rafa Benitez's side require a dose of luck to end the drought in the Premier League.
He added: "I'm not a manager, so I don't know how it works, but you've obviously got to sign the right players.
"At the end of the day you need a bit of luck and Liverpool have not really had that.
"We've been notoriously slow starters. If you look, it took a while to get going, but we probably finished the season as well as anyone, so you need a bit of luck to be honest."

Alonso excited by Torres move

Xabi Alonso is excited at the prospect of Fernando Torres linking up with him at Liverpool.
Liverpool are widely believed to be on the verge of clinching a club record deal for the Atletico Madrid hit-man.
Atletico are thought to have accepted an offer for Torres with Luis Garcia going in the opposite direction as a sweetener.
Reports have suggested Torres has cut short his holiday to travel to Merseyside to undergo a medical and discuss personal terms with Liverpool on Tuesday.
Alonso has welcomed Liverpool's move for his fellow Spaniard and he believes he will be a major success in England if he does complete his switch to Anfield.
"It would be fantastic if Torres is bought by Liverpool because he is a brilliant player," Alonso told Marca.
"We are going to see what happens in the end, but it is clear that it would be good for us to have him.
"He (Torres) has already demonstrated his enormous quality and to have him in the team would be brilliant."

No offers for Fowler

Robbie Fowler has revealed he has had no offers since being released by Liverpool.The 32-year-old former England striker has been linked with moves to MLS side New England Revolution and Australian outfit Sydney FC.But Fowler insists he has yet to hear from any club, adding on Sky Sports News: “Obviously, not everyone can get a club and I’m in that boat.“My record speaks for itself. If I get offers, I get offers.”Asked whether he expected to be playing Premier League football next season, Fowler – the division’s fourth highest scorer – said: “We’ll have to wait and see.”Fowler admitted he did not play as many games as he would have liked after his dramatic return to Anfield 18 months ago but added: “I was just made up to be back at Liverpool. It’s a club close to my heart. It was great being back and I wouldn’t have swapped that for the world.”He tipped champions Manchester United and Chelsea to be the teams to beat next season but backed Liverpool to put up a strong challenge for the title.“It’s going to be a hard job to catch those two again,” Fowler said. “But Liverpool have got the right man in charge and with the right players and a little bit of luck, hopefully we’ll be talking at the end of the season about Liverpool being champions.”

Torres demands £100k-a-week from Liverpool

Fernando Torres is demanding a six-year deal worth £31.2million to join Liverpool.
The Atletico Madrid star, 23, is yet to hold talks with Kop boss Rafael Benitez as his advisors hold out for £100,000-a-week.
The package for the striker will amount to £57.9m, including the £24m transfer fee.
Atletico want Liverpool to pick up a £2.7m tab for a pay-off Torres is due under the terms of his contract.
Reports in The Sun suggest the deal will stretch Liverpool's purse strings to the limit and would put Torres' wage behind only skipper Steven Gerrard's £120,000-a-week.
But Benitez risks losing his No.1 summer target to Inter Milan if his board refuse his demands.
The Italian giants have already had a £27m bid accepted.
And although Torres favours Liverpool, the Inter offer is being used as a bargaining tool by his agents Bahia International.
A Bahia source said: "He'll only leave Atletico if the club, and the offer, is absolutely right for him."
The deal was given a boost at the weekend when midfielder Luis Garcia sealed a £3.36m move in the other direction.
Officially the switch has nothing to do with Torres' deal but the fee has been taken off his price-tag.
Torres will keep Benitez waiting until he returns from holiday on July 7 before any deal is signed.
Atletico chiefs are now desperate to finalise the move after signing Diego Forlan as a £14m replacement from Villarreal.

Dudek tempted by Bolton bid

Former Liverpool goalkeeper Jerzy Dudek has acknowledged that a last-minute offer from Bolton has stalled his proposed move to Real Madrid.The Polish goalkeeper is a free agent after Reds boss Rafael Benitez released him at the end of last season. Dudek was offered a deal by Real Madrid that would see him understudy Iker Casillas at the Bernabeu, but the late intervention by Trotters boss Sammy Lee has caused him to ponder.Dudek told The Sun: "I made a decision to leave England, but Bolton's offer has made me have a rethink."I still haven't signed anything with Real Madrid and I have other offers to consider very carefully."Bolton number one Jussi Jaaskelainen is yet to sign a new deal as he enters the final year of his current contract at the Reebok. Aston Villa, Manchester United and Sunderland have all been linked with the Finn, and Dudek would be in prime position for first-team football if Jaaskelainen went on to leave the club.Bolton have money to spend, anyway, after agreeing a new multi-million pound sponsorship deal with Reebok that extends both kit sponsorship and the naming rights of the stadium until 2016.The club's chief executive Allan Duckworth said: "Bolton have enjoyed an outstanding and mutually beneficial partnership with Reebok for a great many years."We pride ourselves on establishing long-term strategic partnerships and are delighted to be able to extend our stadium naming rights partnership for a further nine-year term."

Liverpool Complete Double Hungarian Swoop

Liverpool have confirmed that the signing of two Hungarian youngsters has been completed.
It had been announced earlier this year that the teenage duo were to sign for the Champions League runners up and the moves have now been finalised.
Krisztian Nemeth and Andras Simon arrive from MTK Hungaria having starred in last year's UEFA under-17 Championships.
They also impressed the Anfield management during a trial spell at Melwood and have both agreed a three-year contract.
Nemeth, 18, an attacking midfielder and Simon, 17, a forward will join Gary Ablett's reserve team squad next season.

Luis Garcia Signs For Atletico Madrid

The former Barcelona man returns to the Vicente Calderon for £3.4m - Fernando Torres, however, is yet to leave the club...
Luis Garcia was expected to return to Atletico Madrid as part of the deal bringing Fernando Torres to Anfield. It hasn't quite worked out that way.
While the latter has yet to sign on at Liverpool, Luis Garcia has returned to the Vicente Calderon after four years away from the Spanish capital.
Garcia departed the Vicente Calderon in favour of the Nou Camp in 2003 before heading to Liverpool a year later, where he rapidly established himself as a fans' favourite.
Now, despite this success, his agent reports that he's heading back to Atletico despite generally impressing during his time at Liverpool. A 5 million euro (GBP£3.4m) fee has been agreed between the clubs, and he's expected to be officially unveiled later today.
The attacker, who can play behind the strikers, out wide or as a forward, proved himself a valuable member of the Liverpool squad in his first two years at Anfield.
After scaling the Liverpool scoring charts with 13 goals in all competitions in his debut season, Luis picked up a Champions League winner's medal after that penalty shoot-out win over Milan, before continuing his good form with seven league goals in the following campaign.
However, Injury struck in the second half of the 2006-07 season, meaning he has only played 18 competitive matches in the last year. Seemingly, he was subsequently seen as surplus to requirements at the Reds.
With this transfer now fully completed, Liverpool are widely expected to bag Torres in the next couple of days. If the wages can be sorted, that is!