EPL News: Liverpool sign Porto midfielder Raul Meireles; Roy Hodgson still looking for transfers
Liverpool FC have officially announced that they have signed Portugal midfielder Raul Meireles from FC Porto for 11-and-a-half million pounds on a 4-year contract.
The 27-year old midfielder is adaptable at playing both as a defensive and offensive midfielder. With the departure of defensive midfielder Javier Mascherano from Anfield, Meireles is sure to play a role as his successor.
However, that is not all; the Portuguese International’s ability to come forward will also prove very helpful for the Scouse as Liverpool have been looking for an additional creative midfielder to add in the team for a long time.
When Hodgson had laid his eyes on an opportunity like this, he certainly wasn’t going to let go of it that easy. Now he has a couple of options in the midfield and therefore the Reds skipper Steven Gerrard will have a bit more freedom to run around the pitch.
Lucas Leiva and Christian Poulsen are the men who are ready to star in the midfield apart from Meireles. In the last EPL match against Manchester City, it became apparent how important the defensive midfield position can be as Javier Mascherano refused to play just hours before the match and Liverpool used Lucas as a defensive midfielder; however, he failed miserably. In the end, Liverpool lost 3-0.
Meireles was part of the 2010 FIFA World Cup squad for Portugal and starred in all his games in the first line-up. He was signed in by FC Porto in 2004, and since then, he has had 137 appearances for them in which he has scored 15 times. For Portugal he has acquired 38 appearances and netted 6 goals.
Sources claim that this was a desperate decision from the new Liverpool manager Roy Hodgson. They have said that this was a reaction to Javier Mascherano’s transfer to Barcelona combined with the Manchester City defeat. While Mascherano still has to go under his medical examination, the club has also revealed that they are planning to sign in Real Madrid’s 25 year old defensive midfielder Lassana Diarra.
The French international Diarra was signed in by Real Madrid last summer from English club Portsmouth. Then onwards, he has had 42 caps for the club and has also scored a goal. Diarra, a former Chelsea and Arsenal player, has failed to comment clearly on the developing situation.
As the summers come to end and the transfer window comes to a close on the 31st of August, Liverpool are trying to wrap up things as soon as possible. Along with the signing of Meireles, they have also signed in Fulham’s left-back Paul Konchesky.
The 29-year old defender has been playing for Fulham since 2007, capping 92 times and scoring two goals. He came to Craven Cottage from West Ham United, where he played for two years and compiled 59 appearances and two goals.
Liverpool is in severe distress in the defensive department, being in search of a good defensive midfielder and a left-back all summer. For the left-back position, they are currently playing Daniel Agger, who seems to be doing his job, which Argentinean Insua has refused to do.
Insua is demanding a transfer from the Merseyside club, but so far, there haven’t been many offers for him. Other men that can play at that position are Daniel Wilson and Fabio Aurelio. Aurelio has been given a new contract by the Reds after he was refused one earlier in the summers as Anfield notified him that his services were no longer required.
Around a month earlier, Hodgson had a couple more players in mind that he wanted to sign in for the defending position, but negotiations fell through with other clubs. Hodgson tried to sign in Manchester City’s Wayne Bridge but the club refused the bid, after which the English manager tried to sign in Luke Young from Aston Villa - though he usually plays as a right-back - but in his case, the player refused the salary being offered to him.
The latest from Hodgson is that though the transfer window is about to close, the manager is still looking for last-minute changes and additions in his squad. He has revealed that he is still willing to sign in West Ham United’s forward Carlton Cole if the negotiations are successful.
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