May 2 2008 EXCLUSIVE by Tony Barrett, Liverpool Echo
LIVERPOOL have tabled a £10m bid to bring Aston вилла звезда Gareth Barry to Anfield.
The offer was made yesterday as Rafa Benitez reacted to Liverpool's Champions League exit at the hands of Chelsea by making an immediate Переместить for his number one summer transfer target.
The Reds boss has earmarked Barry as a potential key signing and the centre piece of his rebuilding plans as he looks to put together a squad with enough strength in depth to be able to mount a genuine challenge for the Premier League title.
вилла boss Martin O'Neill has insisted he would be reluctant to let the England international leave вилла Park. But the 27-year-old central midfielder is keen to experience Champions League football and is believed to favour a transfer to Anfield, despite interest from both Arsenal and Chelsea.
The two Лондон клубы have been monitoring Barry's situation for several months and both are believed to be ready to test the water by make offers of their own.
But Liverpool have stolen a march on their Big Four rivals by getting in first with a £10m bid. Though Benitez rates Barry highly, he would be reluctant to get involved in an auction for a player understood to be keen on a Переместить to Anfield.
O'Neill is desperate to retain the services of his club captain and is due to meet вилла owner Randy Lerner Далее week in an attempt to put together a lucrative contract in a last ditch bid to convince Barry not to quit.
But, with Liverpool able to offer Barry the Champions League football he craves and the opportunity to team up with international team mate Steven Gerrard, it is unlikely that even the prospect of being the best paid вилла player of all time would be enough to tempt him to remain at the club he joined as a teenager in 1997.
With 17 international Трофеи and 313 Premier League appearances to his name, Barry is a seasoned campaigner whose stock has risen in Последнее seasons thanks to a string of influential performances for both club and country.
Former England manager Steve McClaren gave Barry a regular place in his starting line-up and Fabio Capello, his replacement as national team manager, has continued to select him in his preferred central midfield role, despite competition from the likes of Chelsea's Frank Lampard and Manchester United's Michael Carrick.
Now Benitez is keen to make him his first acquisition of the summer and Liverpool's offer will test their determination to keep hold of their звезда player.
* Meanwhile, Liverpool's on-loan winger, Paul Anderson, 19,has been named as Swansea's young player of the year. He scored 10 goals as they clinched promotion to the Championship.
LIVERPOOL have tabled a £10m bid to bring Aston вилла звезда Gareth Barry to Anfield.
The offer was made yesterday as Rafa Benitez reacted to Liverpool's Champions League exit at the hands of Chelsea by making an immediate Переместить for his number one summer transfer target.
The Reds boss has earmarked Barry as a potential key signing and the centre piece of his rebuilding plans as he looks to put together a squad with enough strength in depth to be able to mount a genuine challenge for the Premier League title.
вилла boss Martin O'Neill has insisted he would be reluctant to let the England international leave вилла Park. But the 27-year-old central midfielder is keen to experience Champions League football and is believed to favour a transfer to Anfield, despite interest from both Arsenal and Chelsea.
The two Лондон клубы have been monitoring Barry's situation for several months and both are believed to be ready to test the water by make offers of their own.
But Liverpool have stolen a march on their Big Four rivals by getting in first with a £10m bid. Though Benitez rates Barry highly, he would be reluctant to get involved in an auction for a player understood to be keen on a Переместить to Anfield.
O'Neill is desperate to retain the services of his club captain and is due to meet вилла owner Randy Lerner Далее week in an attempt to put together a lucrative contract in a last ditch bid to convince Barry not to quit.
But, with Liverpool able to offer Barry the Champions League football he craves and the opportunity to team up with international team mate Steven Gerrard, it is unlikely that even the prospect of being the best paid вилла player of all time would be enough to tempt him to remain at the club he joined as a teenager in 1997.
With 17 international Трофеи and 313 Premier League appearances to his name, Barry is a seasoned campaigner whose stock has risen in Последнее seasons thanks to a string of influential performances for both club and country.
Former England manager Steve McClaren gave Barry a regular place in his starting line-up and Fabio Capello, his replacement as national team manager, has continued to select him in his preferred central midfield role, despite competition from the likes of Chelsea's Frank Lampard and Manchester United's Michael Carrick.
Now Benitez is keen to make him his first acquisition of the summer and Liverpool's offer will test their determination to keep hold of their звезда player.
* Meanwhile, Liverpool's on-loan winger, Paul Anderson, 19,has been named as Swansea's young player of the year. He scored 10 goals as they clinched promotion to the Championship.