Luis Suбrez is prepared to quit Ajax for Liverpool

Luis Suz is prepared to quit Ajax for Liverpool

Liverpool target Luis Suárez is believed to have made it clear to Ajax that he would be prepared to leave the Dutch club for Anfield should a suitable offer arrive in the remaining two weeks of the transfer window.

On the move: Ajax are resigned to losing Suarez Photo: GETTY IMAGES

By Rory Smith 7:00AM GMT 18 Jan 2011

Rory's Twitter

Comments

The Eredivisie side’s new manager, Frank de Boer, has stripped the Uruguay international of the captaincy after a number of controversial incidents and is thought to be resigned to losing the striker.

Liverpool have emerged as favourites to secure Suárez’s services after Tottenham chose not to further their interest in the 23 year-old, who would contemplate a move to England only should he be able to join a club with a core of Spanish-speaking players.

Though Ajax are prepared to listen to offers substantially below the £35  million valuation they placed on the striker after an impressive World Cup — which included his infamous handball in Uruguay’s quarter-final win against Ghana — the Dutch club will not countenance selling the player for less than £18 million.

Whether Liverpool match that fee will depend on whether the club’s owner, Fenway Sports Group (FSG), believes Suárez’s age, potential and marketing power make him a worthwhile investment.

The club’s manager, Kenny Dalglish, and director of football strategy, Damien Comolli, will attempt to convince the group’s principal backers, John W Henry and Tom Werner, of that in the coming days.

Suárez is not expected to be Liverpool’s only attempt at recruitment this month, though FSG’s philosophy means the club will not spend money if their first-choice targets are either unavailable or out of their price range.

Dalglish and Comolli have scouted Charles N’Zogbia, the Wigan winger, intensively, and the Frenchman may prove a cheaper alternative to another long-term target, Aston Villa’s Ashley Young. The England international would cost around £15 million should Villa release him, roughly twice the amount needed to buy N’Zogbia.

Reports that Liverpool had made an approach for Young’s team-mate, Stewart Downing, are wide of the mark, though another Villa player, the out-of-favour left-back Stephen Warnock, is being monitored. Dalglish may look to bring the

29 year-old back to the club he left in 2007 on an initial loan until the end of the season.

The Scot is thought to be keen to bring as many as four new faces to Anfield in the next 13 days as he looks to inject some much-needed confidence into his jaded side.

Quite how hard the past 18 months of failure has been on Liverpool’s current squad — and quite how crucial an infusion of fresh blood is if this season is to end in anything other than ignominy — is illustrated by Dirk Kuyt, who came into the campaign on the back of the proudest moment of his career and now finds himself facing an unexpected relegation battle.

“It is difficult for me,” he said. “Six months ago, I was playing in a World Cup final. Last week, I had my second defeat of the season by Blackpool. That’s not something that should have happened, because we are better than that. I am better than that and the team is better than that.

“That is the thing about football: fortunes change quickly, but now I am confident that with the manager we have and the players we have that we will do better than we have early in the season. It is just a matter of time until we perform again.

“It’s good that we will have a couple of sessions extra to be ready for the next game. It’s always important for a new manager, especially when you come in during the season, to have a bit of time to change and speak with the players about how you want them to play.”

How numbers add up for ‘The Cannibal’

1 Banned for one game for handling goal-bound shot in World Cup quarter-final against Ghana. “Mine is the real ‘Hand Of God’,” he said

35 League goals scored for Ajax in 2009-10, from just 33 games

16 Goals in 38 internationals for Uruguay

8 Strike partnership with Diego Forlan at 2010 World Cup in South Africa yielded eight goals

7 Banned for seven games last November by Dutch FA for biting PSV Eindhoven’s Otman Bakkal. Dubbed a ‘cannibal’ by media

fenway sports group fsg, fenway sports group, kenny dalglish, frank de boer, principal backers, getty images, tom werner, controversial incidents, dutch club, football strategy, marketing power, director of football, worthwhile investment, target, mdash, altern, suz, winger, ajax, striker
qtdz
Telegraph.co.uk