Liverpool hope for Suarez compromise

Liverpool are closing in on signing Uruguay forward Luis Suárez, despite the insistence of his club, Ajax, that only an absurd amount of money would tempt them to sell their prize asset.

They are believed to be demanding £25 million, but Liverpool are reluctant to pay much more than £18 million, although the Anfield side think a compromise will be reached.

Kenny Dalglish, Liverpool's caretaker manager, and Damien Comolli, the club's director of football strategy, have identified Suárez as their primary attacking reinforcement for the January transfer window and the 23 year-old is thought to have informed both the Ajax hierarchy and his team-mates of his desire to move to England.

The Amsterdam side, though, would keep him against his wishes should an offer matching their valuation fail to materialise. "We know how important Luis is for Ajax," said manager Frank de Boer. "Only when an absurd amount is on the table should we let him go."

Although reports that principal owner John W Henry had met Suárez's agent on Tuesday are wide of the mark, Liverpool's chairman, Tom Werner, confirmed on Wednesday that they are intending to bolster Dalglish's squad this month. However, they warned that they would not jeopardise their long-term plans to do so.

"We are hard at work," he said. "It is our intention to improve the club short term, and we do have targets. We hope to announce something but we are going to be driven by long-term decisions. It is very important for us to strengthen the club not just this season but next season."

Present for both the remainder of this campaign and the foreseeable future should be defender Daniel Agger and captain Steven Gerrard. The former, linked with a move to Germany, says he has no intention of leaving this month, while the latter has suggested he would like to carry on playing for five years.

They may be joined by Stephen Warnock - Dalglish's first-choice left-back, likely to arrive at Anfield on a loan deal with a view to a permanent move in the summer - and possibly by the Scot himself, after Werner reiterated yesterday that the 59 year-old is a candidate for the manager's post on a permanent basis.

"He fits the criteria we are looking for," he said. "He has been everything we could have hoped for."

Source: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/teams/liverpool/8270318/Liverpool-hope-to-compromise-with-Ajax-over-Luis-Suarez.html

This story has been reproduced from today's media. It does not necessarily represent the position of Liverpool Football Club.