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29 March 2024

Liverpool target Dempsey ahead of US tour

Liverpool were unable to agree a deal for Clint Dempsey with Fulham. (FILE)

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By Staff

Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers is planning a double swoop for around £17 million although he admits not having a "wheelbarrow load" of money to spend in the transfer window.

Fabio Borini is back on Liverpool's radar, according to The Sun, while Rodgers is also eyeing Fulham’s American striker Clint Dempsey.

Borini looked to have slipped through Rodgers’ net when Roma recently bought the striker outright after jointly owning him with Parma last season.

Yet though Borini, 21, signed a contract until 2016, initial talks have begun since the simplication of his ownership issue.
 
Rodgers, who coached Borini as a Chelsea youth and during a 2011 loan spell at Swansea, could get his man with a £10 million bid.

Fulham star Dempsey could become the first major signing for Rodgers who opted out of the chase for Gylfi Sigurdsson.

The first American to score 50 goals in the Premier League, Dempsey has just one year remaining on his Craven Cottage deal and extension talks have stalled.

Speaking ahead of their pre-season tour to the United States, Rodgers confirmed an "exciting" deal could be completed in the next few days.

"We don't have a wheelbarrow load of money, there is not the money flying about people think there is," said the Northern Irishman.
 
"There certainly won't be as many (signings) as is being labelled out there.
 
"There have been a whole raft of players being linked and only a few are real targets for us.
 
"The reality is we have only made three or four enquiries about players and hopefully can close out one deal this week which will be a real exciting one for the club, one the supporters will absolutely love.
 
"We want to work with the great players we have here and make three or four tweaks in relation to the squad that can help the group.
 
"We want to be competitive in every game and challenging at the top end."
 
Rodgers stressed they believe in quality and pay only the market value.
 
"This is a club which is a way of life, it is not just a club where you turn up for two hours' training and then go away," said the 39-year-old at a press conference to publicise the club's pre-season tour for matches against FC Toronto, Roma and Sigurdsson's new club Tottenham.
 
"You have to be prepared to come into the culture and philosophy of the club and if you don't then it's not a problem but this is not the right fit for you.
 
"I want players that are hungry to succeed and want to match the ambitions of how we want to move forward and the reality of that is there are very few players who can match that.
 
"I don't just want to identify a player and then let them come in at whatever cost.
 
"One of the things which distorts the reality of football is money.
 
"I don't see the sense of a player coming in if we have to pay over the odds for him.
 
"There are many good players out there but not many who have the courage and bravery to play the way we want to."
 
Striker Andy Carroll has been linked with AC Milan but the Liverpool manager insists there has been no approach.
 
"He is a very good young player and he will be linked with clubs with them because he is such a good player," said Rodgers.
 
"It is something I have spoken to him about (while he is still) on his holidays so he knows exactly where he stands.
 
"I haven't had anything from AC Milan at all."

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