Liverpool manager Roy Hodgson fears ‘Mega’ Fernando Torres bid
Liverpool’s manager Roy Hodgson has admitted to two things in a recent interview. The first being that he was more than pleased with the fact that after dragging his transfer for a while, Fernando Torres finally (restated his commitment / resigned himself to the fact that there was a lack of suitors out there) accepted that he was staying at the club for another season. The second being that if a big money bid was to be made by any team for the player, the Anfield officials wouldn’t be able to turn it down, considering how they are in desperate need of money at the moment.
The two teams that are expected to launch big money bids for the player are a) Chelsea, who are the current English champions and b) Manchester City, who seem to have an infinite pot of money on their hands. However, even after hearing about apparent interest from both the clubs, Torres continued his pre-season training with Liverpool and insisted that his commitment to the club had not diminished in any way.
Liverpool had also made it clear on numerous occasions in the past that they did not want to sell their star striker. They were insistent upon the fact that they did not wish to sell El Niño (The Kid, Torres’ nickname); however, a bid in excess of fifty million pounds or so might make the team think otherwise.
Hodgson doesn’t wish to get rid of the player because he is well aware of the fact that it would be close to impossible to find a player of Torres’ capability again. He has also said that he is more concerned about what the player can offer in the future instead of worrying about where the player would end up next season.
He was reported to have said, "The important thing for Fernando and for us is that we have a good season - he as a player in the club and me as a manager.
"Who knows what next season will bring? We could have a fantastic season and the players will not want to go anywhere or we could have a worse one and there will be more speculation.
"It could be he does so fantastically well and an offer comes in like the offer came in for Kaka or Cristiano Ronaldo (£56 million and £80 million respectively - both from Real Madrid) which is impossible to turn down.
"But we will take that problem when and if it arises but the important thing is it hasn't arisen this summer because he is going to be playing for us.
"He is committed to playing for us and he is going to honour his contract and it is good for me he has made it clear he likes the club and the fans.
"It is nice now the speculation can finally end once and for all after Fernando made it clear how absolutely committed he is."
Fernando Torres has openly admitted that the only reason why he decided to continue playing for the Reds was because he was very impressed with what Hodgson had planned for the future. He also stated that the fact that the team was able to snap up Joe Cole amidst speculation that he was on his way out to another team, showed just how strong the team was considered to be amongst the top players. There had also been previous speculation about the Liverpool captain, Steven Gerrard, leaving the team for Real Madrid. That never happened since Mourinho, who is Real’s manager, said that Liverpool were asking for way too much money for the player. Soon after, Gerrard also stated that he wished to stay at Anfield. This news also played a major role in convincing Torres to stay at the club.
However, all of that could change if a big money offer does come for the player.
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