Liverpool going for Kenwyne Jones

LIVERPOOL have been told they must splash out at least £10 million voire £13 million to sign Kenwyne Jones – as Galatasaray prepared to end Ryan Babel’s increasingly controversial Anfield career.

Rafael Benitez has targeted Sunderland striker Jones as he looks to bolster a forward line further weakened by the absence through injury of Fernando Torres.

While an attempt last week to broker a swap deal between Jones and Babel floundered, talks have remained ongoing between Liverpool officials and their Wearside counterparts.

The Anfield outfit were confident they could snap up the Trinidad and Tobago international Jones on loan until the end of the season, with a view to a permanent switch. But Sunderland have decided that any temporary move would not be in their best interests, and slapped a £10m price tag on the 25-year-old.

Sunderland yesterday distanced themselves from claims that Jones, signed by the Black Cats from Southampton for £6million in 2007, was due on Merseyside to undergo a medical.

But, tellingly, chairman Niall Quinn stopped short of giving a cast-iron assurance the striker would leave this month.

“Kenwyne Jones knows exactly what I think of him,” said Quinn. “I love him as a footballer. He’s got the complete package and if things work out for him in the second half of the season, he’s vital to us.

“Behind the scenes agents may be setting up things with football clubs, but it happens today. We don’t want to get rid of anybody at the football club.”



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Kenwyne Jones's statistics

Personal DetailsDOB : 1984-10-05
Age : 25
POB ; Point Fortin, Trinidad
Height : 6'2
Weight ; 12st 4lbs
Team ; Sunderland
Position ; Forward

Player Statistics
.......................................Starts Goals Subs on Subs off Mins Pld Red Yellow
Epl & League....................14........6.........3............6.........1267........1.......0
LeagueCup........................3.........0.........0...........2...........216........0.......0
Total................................17.........6.........3...........8.........1483........1.......0

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Now tthis sound a much better deal...

Arda Turan: Liverpool in £13M Babel Swap Deal for Dazzling Turkish Star

According to reports in the Turkish press, Rafa Benitez rejected the recent bid from Birmingham for Ryan Babel as they are in negotiations with Turkish giants Galatasaray for a swap deal plus cash for their captain and star man Arda Turan. The player was widely expected to leave Galatasaray last summer with the club finishing a highly disappointing 5th in the Turkish league, 10 points behind champions Besiktas. However, it would seem this will now be Arda’s last season with the club before moving abroad although Benitez is trying to push through a deal this month as he looks to claw back a Champions League place by the end of the current campaign.

An added bonus for potential suitors of Arda is the player’s versatility as he can play on either flank or even in a more central role. It’s no surprise that Liverpool are so strongly linked to the golden boy of Turkish football as Rafa Benitez has been looking to add some much needed flair to his strong outfit. The injuries to Fernando Torres, Steven Gerrard and Yossi Benayoun have led Liverpool to attempt to push through a deal as soon as possible with the team lacking its most creative and goal scoring talent.


The 22-year-old Galatasaray midfielder enjoyed an excellent season individually last season even though the team ultimately struggled after scoring 7 goals in 29 league appearances (27 starts). In the 2007/08 season he also weighed in with 7 goals in 30 league appearances (29 starts) which led to interest from England, Spain and Italy. As new captain of the side, Arda has scored 4 goals in 16 league appearances this season as the club sit 2nd in the league, 1 point behind leaders Fenerbahce. Arda is a team-mate of former Liverpool star Harry Kewell and reports suggest the Australian has given a glowing report about life at Anfield.

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Je suis vraiment deçu par la rumeur sur Jones, bien plus que celle sur Turan, même si celle-ci court le risque d'une mal- voire inadaptation avec la Premier League comme cela arrive souvent avec nombre d'étrangers. En ce qui concerne Jones, je prédis que c'est encore mettre des millions dans du potentiel (Jones n'a même pas d'aussi bonnes statistiques que son co-équipier de Sunderland Darren Bent) et va s'avérer un fiasco du type Ryan Babel... Une bonne demi-saison dans une équipe moyenne et on en fait une cible en dizaine de millions, beaucoup trop cher, beaucoup de trop de battage publicitaire, de la fumée.