Liverpool sign downing and doni

The 26-year-old, who has been capped 27 times by England, becomes Kenny Dalglish's fourth summer signing following the transfers of Jordan Henderson from Sunderland, Blackpool's Charlie Adam and the acquisition of Brazilian goalkeeper Alexander Doni, which was confirmed earlier on Friday.

Villa confirmed earlier this week that Downing had submitted a formal transfer request and he travelled to Liverpool to discuss terms and complete a medical before signing a long-term deal at the club.

Downing, who moved to Villa Park for around £10million two years ago, had been a prime summer target of Liverpool manager Dalglish, who saw bids of €13.4 million and €17 million rejected before an agreement for an undisclosed fee, believed to be in the region of €22 million, was struck.

Downing made it clear only last month, when on England duty, that he would not sign an extension with Villa, effectively forcing them to listen to offers.

Arsenal were reported last weekend to have joined the competition for his signature but Liverpool were always the front-runners, according to the player himself.

"It's a great feeling and I'm very happy to be here. It's been a long time coming and I've had to wait a few weeks, but I'm really pleased to be here," he told www.liverpoolfc.tv. "With the tradition, the manager and the players they have here, there was a big temptation to come here and once I knew of their interest, there was only one place I wanted to go.

"It will be a great feeling to run out at Anfield. It's always nice to come and play here. The atmosphere is always great and the fans are brilliant. When I wanted to come to Liverpool, it was the first thing I thought of - playing at Anfield in front of those great fans. I'm really looking forward to it."

The idea of winning silverware on a regular basis also appealed to Downing.

He said: "It would be nice to win something. I'm sure that's the same objective for everyone, not just me personally. My aim is to be in the team, to play well and give something back because the manager has pushed the boat out to get me here, so hopefully I can give him something back.

"Getting a few goals and a few assists for the lads up front, that's what I'm hoping for."

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Adam could be the second one

Reds' director of football Damien Comolli set for talks with the Tangerines this weekend & Anfield club are clear favourites to seal £10m deal despite McLeish's interest in Scot

Liverpool are ready to step up their attempts to sign Blackpool captain Charlie Adam in the coming days and are confident of beating off competition from Aston Villa.

Adam is one of Liverpool's top targets for the summer transfer window and director of football Damien Comolli is planning talks with Blackpool chairman Karl Oyston over the weekend.

The Reds want to pay £9 million for the central midfielder but could be forced to up their bid to £10m due to interest from new Aston Villa manager Alex McLeish.

McLeish gave Adam his Rangers debut in 2003 and wants to add his fellow Scot to the Villa squad following the sale of Ashley Young to Manchester United.

United have themselves been monitoring Adam's situation, as have Everton, but it now looks like a straight battle between Liverpool and Villa for the playmaker's signature.

Liverpool are firm favourites to land Adam and Anfield is believed to be the 25-year-old's preferred destination.

Reds manager Kenny Dalglish failed with an £8m bid for Adam in January but has maintained his interest as he makes major changes at Anfield to target a top-four finish next season.

The Tangerines resisted offers in January as they sought to retain their Premier League status but are resigned to Adam's departure this summer following their relegation to the Championship.

Blackpool triggered a 12-month extension to Adam's contract in May but accept they will have to sell their star man, who cost just £500,000 when he arrived from Rangers in 2009.

Adam would become Liverpool's second signing of the summer following the arrival of England Under-21 international Jordan Henderson from Sunderland in a £16m deal.

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Second signing does a u-turn!!!

Sylvain Marveaux has claimed that he joined Newcastle after failing to agree personal terms with Liverpool.

The 25-year-old signed a five-year deal at St James Park this morning after reports in France had alleged that he had failed the medical arranged to finalise his protracted move to Anfield.

But Marveaux, speaking to L'Equipe, has refuted the suggestions and claims that negotiations between his representatives and Reds chiefs hit a stumbling block on Thursday evening.

"I do not want to go into details, but I did not sign for Liverpool because there was a contractual disagreement between the parties Thursday night", said the former Rennes winger.

Magpies boss Alan Pardew is delighted to be able to welcome both Marveaux and former West Ham striker Demba Ba to the North East as he prepares for the new season.

He said: "It's a great coup to have signed Sylvain, who has received interest from a number of other clubs.

"He may not be well known to many of our fans but he is a real talent and a player we have been keeping an eye on for some time.

"It's been a good couple of days for us on the transfer front."

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Liverpool to confirm second signing of the season soon...

Liverpool have moved closer to signing Sylvain Marveaux on a free transfer after the French midfielder underwent a medical on Merseyside.


The 25-year-old is out of contract following five seasons in the Rennes first team and has been linked with a move to Anfield since January.

Talks took place between Liverpool officials and Marveaux's representatives when Roy Hodgson was manager, although the club's director of football Damien Comolli has overseen the transfer and interest has not waned since Kenny Dalglish took charge.

Marveaux made only 10 appearances for Rennes last season due to a serious groin injury but, providing he passes the medical, the left-sided midfielder is likely to become Liverpool's second capture of the summer following the arrival of Jordan Henderson from Sunderland.

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Liverpool go from red to blue...............

Liverpool have unveiled their third kit for season and to the surprise of everyone it features an eye-catching white, blue and black design.

Well it certainly seems to be some kind of marketing strategy but it has certainly raised a lot of eyebrows.

This kit draws inspiration from shirts worn by Liverpool sides of the 1980s with the diagonal stripe, the inclusion of cyan dates back to the club's first home strip, which was blue and white, worn almost 120 years ago.

Well no matter what colour kit it is, but once a RED always remains a RED....YNWA!!!

Hope glory days are back again....

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Gerrard raring to unleash himself and hails the new signing

Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard believes new signing Jordan Henderson has the ability to succeed him as the team's driving force.

The Reds completed the signing of Henderson from Sunderland last night in a deal thought to be worth around £20million.

Gerrard has been the heartbeat of the Reds' midfield for more than a decade but the Anfield hero feels the highly-rated 20-year-old Henderson could prove his natural replacement.

Gerrard, 31, told the club's website: "It's a really positive signing. Let's hope he is the next Steven Gerrard.

"That's what good football clubs do - they replace their best players. Liverpool needs a new Steven Gerrard and it will need a new Jamie Carragher. I saw Jordan at first hand for two or three days with England and he is a good player with energy."

Henderson, who won an England cap against France last November, will increase competition for central midfield places in a squad that already includes Lucas, Jay Spearing, Raul Meireles and Christian Poulsen, as well as Gerrard.

Gerrard missed the end of last season after undergoing groin surgery but has every intention of fighting back to full fitness for the start of the next campaign.

He said: "I have confidence in what I can do. I am going to be in the best condition physically going into this season that I have been for the last ten years. I am working doubly hard on my body, on my core and on strengthening my groin, which I have suffered with.

"The operation went well and I have nearly double the strength in the groin now than before. The physios at Liverpool are measuring that on a weekly basis and the results show that.

"I know I will be rusty in friendlies but I have confidence that I am going to be the freshest I have been, both mentally and physically, for a long, long time."

Gerrard, who has taken up yoga to build up his strength, has not played since the Reds' memorable Premier League win over eventual champions Manchester United on 6 March.

Without him his team-mates finished the season strongly and almost snatched a UEFA Europa League spot until losing their final two games to Tottenham Hotspur and Aston Villa.

"I've not kicked a ball for a long time, probably the longest I have gone in my career, and I can't wait to get back now," Gerrard added.

"I am excited about playing under Kenny Dalglish, just like the team did at the end of the season, which was going forward. We were playing with bottle and character and going all out to beat teams. And that always suits my style of playing."

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Liverpool soon to unveil their first summer signing

Jordan Henderson has agreed to join Liverpool from Sunderland for £16million.

The 20-year-old midfielder, who is flying out with England’s Under 21 squad for the European Championship in Denmark, will sign a five-year deal on his return.

A Sunderland statement on Wednesday morning read: 'A fee has been agreed with Liverpool for Jordan Henderson and he travels to Anfield today with the club's blessing.'

A Liverpool statement added: 'Liverpool have agreed a deal to sign Sunderland midfielder Jordan Henderson. The 20-year-old will today discuss personal terms and undergo a medical on Merseyside after a fee was agreed between the two clubs.'
Henderson is Kenny Dalglish’s first major signing of the summer and the manager will also try again to sign Blackpool captain Charlie Adam and Ipswich’s 18-year-old striker Connor Wickham.

Adam, 25, wanted to move to Anfield in January, only for the deal to collapse. But Liverpool remain keen on a midfielder who fits in with the policy of owners Fenway Sports Group, who want young British talent.

Sunderland had insisted throughout reports of the Merseysiders' interest in their highest-profile academy graduate that he was simply not for sale.

However, the reality which has long been acknowledged by manager Steve Bruce is that every player has his price and for Henderson, that had been set at around the £20million mark.

Bruce had no desire to sell a player who emerged from the ranks last season to hold down a regular place in his hometown club's first-choice XI.

However, as was the case when Aston Villa came calling in January with a deal potentially rising to £24million for Darren Bent, Sunderland were made an offer which represents a significant return on their investment.

If the figures add up favourably, what is not in dispute is that Henderson's departure will leave another major hole in Bruce's squad.

His form suffered in the immediate aftermath of his senior England debut against France in November last year, but the 20-year-old has been a key man for the Black Cats in the last two seasons and will take some replacing.

The manager is already engaged in an extensive recruitment drive with Bent yet to be replaced, while the returns of loan signings Danny Welbeck, Nedum Onuoha, John Mensah and Sulley Muntari to their clubs has left him with a series of sizeable gaps to plug.

Bruce is targeting as many as three strikers and in the circumstances, the inclusion of 22-year-old Ngog in the deal will prove an attractive benefit, although he has been a largely peripheral figure during his three seasons to date at Anfield.

Allowing Henderson to leave will add another item to the shopping list but significantly boost his transfer kitty, with owner Ellis Short remaining supportive but having reined in some of the rather less controlled spending of recent years.

However, it may not go down too well with fans who still blame Bent's shock departure for the club's slump during the second half of last season.

Liverpool have also been linked with Black Cats skipper Lee Cattermole in recent days, although it is unlikely that Bruce would be prepared to part with two members of his first-choice midfield.

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