[owenrooneyruud]

Super agent Vincenzo Morabito claims Arsenal are considering Peter Crouch as a possible replacement for Emmanuel Adebayor.



Barcelona and Milan are battling to persuade the Gunners to cash in on Adebayor, with a fee in excess of £30million mooted for the Togo striker.


Milan have confirmed the former Monaco forward is their top target, but have acknowledged the difficulty in tempting Arsenal to sell.


Morabito, who is among the agents working on the deal for the Italian giants, appears optimistic that Adebayor will move to the San Siro.


However, Morabito claims Arsenal will not sanction the transfer until Arsene Wenger has brought in a replacement.



Optimistic


Liverpool striker Crouch is among Wenger's targets, according to Morabito, along with Blackburn Rovers' Roque Santa Cruz and Stuttgart frontman Mario Gomez.


"Arsenal are looking for Adebayor's replacement," Morabito told Italian TV show Studio Sport.


"The names being talked about are Peter Crouch, Blackburn striker Roque Santa Cruz and Germany forward Mario Gomez.


"Until that search is over, the negotiations won't reach the final stage, but I am fairly optimistic.


"What are the chances of Adebayor joining Milan? At this stage, we are at 70 per cent to 80 per cent."



Calm


Arsenal boss Wenger, though, is remaining calm about possible player departures, with Alexander Hleb also being strongly linked with a move away from Emirates Stadium.


Wenger said in The Independent: "I know a lot has been written about us, but I am very calm. Why? Because I don't know why I should be nervous.


"It's like when you take a penalty, if you are nervous it doesn't help. I will approach it with my usual calm.


"My biggest challenge is to make sure I have a competitive team next year no matter who it is."
Source: Sky Sports

dont see crouch the replacement for adebayor.. crouch isnt the striker that wenger needs as in 25+ goals a season..

 

[haggler]

crouch is better than he looks but how he fits arsenals style is beyond me

 

[abojodeh]

haha crouch

 

[owenrooneyruud]

Harry to get £11m Crouch

PORTSMOUTH expect to complete an £11million deal for Peter Crouch on Monday.


Harry Redknapp has been chasing him ever since the 6ft 7in Liverpool hitman was told he could move this summer.


Pompey had one £9m bid turned down by the Reds but have returned with an improved offer. They will pay an initial £9m but that could rise to £2m in add-ons.


Crouch, 26, admitted he had to find a new club as another season of bit-part appearances from the bench could see him slip out of the England picture.


Ideally, Liverpool wanted to use him as a makeweight in their bid for Aston Villa’s Gareth Barry, or even as bait to help tempt Spurs into letting Robbie Keane move.


But Crouch has always had his heart set on returning to the club where he spent a season six years ago and linking up with manager Redknapp again.


Ironically, Redknapp sold him to Villa from Pompey in 2002, but resurrected the player’s career by taking him to Southampton in 2004.


Last season Crouch still hit 13 goals despite spending most of the campaign on the sidelines, with Fernando Torres the lone striker.


His departure will also kick-start the Reds’ summer business, allowing Rafa Benitez to pursue his moves for a striker and midfielder in addition to Barry.


The Kop boss is keen on Valencia’s Spain star David Villa, and has also checked out Newcastle winger James Milner and Middlesbrough’s Stewart Downing. But Benitez is refusing to meet Villa’s £18m asking price for Barry.


However, Villa chief Martin O’Neill is planning for life without the 27-year-old England midfielder.


O’Neill desperately needs to strengthen his squad after losing Olof Mellberg, Thomas Sorensen, Scott Carson and Patrik Berger in the summer.


Doubts also surround Shaun Maloney’s Villa future while Curtis Davies and Stephen O’Halloran are still recovering from long-term injuries.


But O’Neill said: “Although the players did fantastically last season we had the smallest squad in the Premier League, and we wouldn’t want that to be the case this season, so we are going to address it.


“If Gareth Barry had decided to stay we were still going to address it. Now it’s even more important than ever we do it. It’s all systems go.”


Chelsea midfielder Steve Sidwell, 25, is expected to be one of the first arrivals while O’Neill is ready to bid £15m for Blackburn’s David Bentley, 23.


Milner, 22, Anton Ferdinand, 23, Aaron Lennon, 21, and keeper Brad Guzan, 23, are also on his radar.


O’Neill also hit back at Barry’s criticism he had been more interested in Euro punditry than Villa.


He said: “It was a case of working there for two or three days then coming back and working here.”
Source: TheSun

 

[manutd43va]

hey dont belittle crouch. he scored regularly whenever he played and i believe he is somewhat underestimated. imo he is definitely a striker who can grab 20+ goals a seaon if played regularly. by then benitez will be hitting himself for letting him leave. his missing jigsaw was so near yet so far.

 

[Lucky7]

He's more Likely to move to Portsmouth that to Arse..
I agree that he can score much goals but I hate him...

 

[owenrooneyruud]

Pompey agree Crouch fee

Portsmouth have been given permission by Liverpool to open transfer talks with Peter Crouch.

Pompey have been tracking the England striker for much of the summer and they have finally reached an agreement with the Reds.

Liverpool turned down an offer believed to be in the region of £9million late last month but Portsmouth have now had a second bid accepted.

Harry Redknapp, who worked with Crouch during a previous spell at Fratton Park and again at Southampton, has identified the 27-year-old as a player who could add firepower to his attack.

Agreement
Crouch moved to Anfield in the summer of 2005 and scored 42 goals in 135 appearances for the club.

However, he often had to settle for a place on the substitutes' bench last season as Rafa Benitez preferred Fernando Torres up front with Dirk Kuyt in support.

Crouch recently admitted he would consider leaving Liverpool in search of more regular football, and it now appears his time at the club is coming to an end.

A spokesman confirmed on Liverpool's official website: "We have reached a verbal agreement with Portsmouth and have given them permission to speak with Peter."
Source: Sky Sports

 

[Jazz 16]

great signing for Pompey. Crouch and Defoe up front will form a great
partnership. They will need a strong squad for the next campaign, which
will include European football. I like Pompey and hope they do well, even if
they did rob us of the FA cup.

 

[Drew9]

Agreed jazz, what a horrible wet rainy afternoon that was at Old Trafford, oh well fair play to them, they will grow again next season under 'Arry, it's a decent signing atleast the poor lad will get some game time.

 

[RedForceRising]

Pompey And Scum Agree Crouch Fee

http://www.football365.com/story/0,17033,8652_3789046,00.html

Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez will step up efforts to secure his primary transfer targets after agreeing a fee with Portsmouth for the sale of striker Peter Crouch.

The two clubs had been at odds over the England international's value, with Benitez putting it as high as £15million earlier in the summer and Pompey making an offer of £9million, but a compromise appears to have been reached on the structuring of the deal.

Reports suggest Portsmouth will pay an initial £8million with a further £3million payable in add-ons over the course of Crouch's contract at Fratton Park.

"We have reached a verbal agreement with Portsmouth and have given them permission to speak with Peter," a spokesman told the club's website, www.liverpoolfc.tv.

Crouch joined Liverpool for £7million from Southampton in 2005, having previously played for Pompey in 2001-02, but last season found his opportunities in the starting line-up limited as Benitez changed his formation to get the best out of record signing Fernando Torres and inspirational captain Steven Gerrard.

Midfielder Xabi Alonso's move to Juventus is still to be finalised, with the two clubs again disagreeing on the fee, but any income from that and the Crouch deal will immediately be ploughed back into the squad.

Benitez knows he has to close the gap to Manchester United and Chelsea and transform his team into consistent Premier League title contenders.

The Spaniard has already brought in Switzerland's Philipp Degen and Italian Andrea Dossena to cover the right and left full-back positions, respectively, while 25-year-old Palmeiras goalkeeper Diego Cavalieri is believed to be close to agreeing a contract to be Jose Reina's understudy.

With the defence now taken care of attention turns to further up the field.

Benitez's long-running pursuit of Aston Villa midfielder Gareth Barry appears locked in a stalemate with counterpart Martin O'Neill unwilling to lower his £18million valuation.

Having had a £15million bid rebuffed it now appears right-back Steve Finnan could be thrown in as a makeweight in the deal, but with Barry desperate to leave Villa after being fined for comments made about his manager a deal is likely to be done at some stage.

Tottenham striker Robbie Keane remains on Benitez's wishlist, while Espanyol winger Albert Riera, Real Mallorca's Borja Valero, Real Madrid's Ruben De La Red and Valencia's David Silva have all been mentioned as potential targets.

However, further reinforcements are likely to depend on the departure of more fringe players.

Further down the club Liverpool have signed promising Denmark Under-18 international Nikola Saric on a three-year deal.

The 17-year-old, who was born in Sarajevo, Bosnia, was recently on trial with Heerenveen.

 

[frenchie]

good luck to him....

 

[thekeanefella]

i like crouch he has proved his critics wrong time and time again, his goal tally for england is superb, he is seriously underrated.
he would be better off at pompey than arsenal, i just cant see him fitting into wengers plans.

 

[Jay007]

his goal tally for england is superb, he is seriously underrated.

His goal-record for England is only superb because he only scores against small(ish) countries who are pretty useful at football.

I don't rate him at all. Yes he has good control but for a man of his height hes extremely poor in the air, and hes certainly not good enough to play for a top 5/6 team imo.

And £11m for him is far too much as well imo

 

[RedForceRising]

Crouch seals £11m Portsmouth move
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/teams/p/portsmouth/7471969.stm

Peter Crouch has completed his move to Portsmouth from Liverpool in a deal that could be worth up to £11m.

The 27-year-old returns to Pompey six years after leaving and will work with boss Harry Redknapp for the third time in his career.

Crouch said: "It's fantastic to be back. I believe Harry gets the best out of me and think the best years of my career can be here."

The England striker has signed a four-year contract at Fratton Park.

Crouch added: "This club is going places and they can match my ambitions.

"The chance of regular first team football was part of the appeal. I know I'll have to work hard to prove myself in training, but I believe my best years are in front of me.

"I had a fantastic three years at Liverpool and I would not change it for the world. I am privileged to have played for such a top club.

"Towards the end I did not get as many games as I would have liked but I will only take good memories away.

"In no way am I stepping down, I feel I am joining a club that is going places with a new stadium, a new training ground and some very good players."

Redknapp added: "Bringing a player like Peter here shows how far we have come and how far we can go. I'm delighted he's back.

"I never expected to see him back here. He went off to Liverpool and did a fantastic job in my opinion and I'm looking forward to seeing him and Jermain Defoe up front - a big one and a little one - and we've got other good forwards here."

The forward was also praised for his contribution to the Merseyside club by Reds manager Rafael Benitez.

"He is a good professional and we would have wanted him to stay," he said.

"We offered him a new contract but sometimes you have to understand the player. He wanted to play a lot more."

The Spaniard added: "With Fernando Torres now first choice, playing more was always going to be difficult.

"I can understand Peter's situation but he did very well for this club and we always supported him when people doubted the decision to bring him to Anfield."

Liverpool are expected to initially receive in the region of £9m for Crouch, who joined the club from Southampton in July 2005 but only started nine Premier League games last term.

Benitez initially said he would consider offers for Crouch in the region of £15m but had to scale back his demands for a player who only had a year left on his contract.

Crouch scored 40 goals in 135 appearances for Liverpool but struggled to hold down a regular first-team place in recent times.

He was relegated behind Torres, who scored 33 goals for the Reds after signing from Atletico Madrid last summer.

However, he was a popular figure with Liverpool fans and still managed to net 11 goals as he was mainly used as a substitute by Benitez.

Crouch started his career as a trainee at Tottenham before moves to QPR, Portsmouth, Aston Villa, Norwich - where he had a spell on loan - Southampton and Liverpool.

 

[abojodeh]

crouch is decent but he dont deserve 11million

 

[hafiz_shukri00391]

crouch is great player.....at some point i dream crouch on man utd shirt .......
he could bring portsmouth up an the champion league is their only target for next season.......

 

[ManUtd19]

Crouch is a pretty decent player. Not sure he's worth £11mil though. I wish him all the best at Portsmouth.

 

[owenrooneyruud]

pompey going to look dangerous now.. have made good signings like diarra, glen johnson, defoe and with crouch this team will push for 4th.. defoe and crouch partnership is going to be awesome

 

[Nachito Coronel]

I never hated crouch but 11mil is way to much imo.

 

[sparkic]

I think 11m is a bit too much...
But Pompey will look good with Defoe and Crouch up front
Can't wait to play them in the Friendly match, Community Shield and in our 2nd EPL game!