By JOHN EDWARDS
15th November 2007 (The Daily Mail)
Liverpool will spark a £10million transfer auction after deciding to sell Peter Crouch to the highest bidder in January.
Crouch's future has been the subject of intense speculation this season but now manager Rafa Benitez has finally lost patience after seeing a change in the striker's attitude.
The Liverpool manager believes Crouch's status as an England player has turned his head, to the detriment of the work ethic that made him such a valuable team player when he arrived from Southampton for £7m in 2005.
Benitez has instructed Anfield chiefs to secure the best possible price for 26-yearold Crouch. There will be no shortage of offers, with early signs of interest from Newcastle, Portsmouth and Aston Villa, one of his former clubs.
A move abroad is believed to appeal to Crouch, with Juventus in the market for a front-runner.
Casting an eye towards the Premier League, Liverpool's initial valuation could prove a stumbling block. Manchester City dropped out after being quoted £15m.
Sportsmail understands that Crouch is prepared to dig his heels in and see out the remaining 18 months of his contract if Liverpool insist on £15m. It seems likely the club will have to lower their sights to around £10m for a New Year deal to go through.
Crouch's expected departure may not be the only one after Momo Sissoko demanded showdown talks over his lack of opportunities this season.
The 22-year-old Mali midfielder has made only four Premier League starts and sees little hope of forcing his way back after slipping behind Javier Mascherano and Xabi Alonso for a place alongside Steven Gerrard.
He wants to grill Benitez over his standing and is ready to demand a move in January if the manager cannot convince him he will have a more active role in the second half of the season.
Liverpool only just pipped Everton to the former Valencia player's signature and there is certain to be strong interest from the Premier League as well as a host of foreign clubs, headed by Juventus, jostling for the chance to offer him a fresh start.
Daniel Agger has set his sights on a return to action against Newcastle a week tomorrow, following a 13-game absence with a broken metatarsal.
'I have had to miss out on Denmark's game in Northern Ireland, but I hope to be ready to play for Liverpool after the international break,' said the 22-year old centre-back.
Benitez, who will give Sami Hyypia an overdue rest if Agger is passed fit, says Yossi Benayoun has only an outside chance of making the lunchtime kick-off at St James' Park. He has been forced to rule out Alonso, who has suffered another foot injury.
Benitez said: 'Yossi is working with the physios now. We will have to see if he is fit for Newcastle; it's still too early to say.
'He and Agger are “maybes” but perhaps it will be easier for Agger than for Benayoun. Xabi should start running in the next week but he is a “no” for Newcastle, for sure.'
The 22-year-old Mali midfielder has made only four Premier League starts and sees little hope of forcing his way back after slipping behind Javier Mascherano and Xabi Alonso for a place alongside Steven Gerrard.
He wants to grill Benitez over his standing and is ready to demand a move in January if the manager cannot convince him he will have a more active role in the second half of the season.
Liverpool only just pipped Everton to the former Valencia player's signature and there is certain to be strong interest from the Premier League as well as a host of foreign clubs, headed by Juventus, jostling for the chance to offer him a fresh start.
Daniel Agger has set his sights on a return to action against Newcastle a week tomorrow, following a 13-game absence with a broken metatarsal.
'I have had to miss out on Denmark's game in Northern Ireland, but I hope to be ready to play for Liverpool after the international break,' said the 22-year old centre-back.
Benitez, who will give Sami Hyypia an overdue rest if Agger is passed fit, says Yossi Benayoun has only an outside chance of making the lunchtime kick-off at St James' Park. He has been forced to rule out Alonso, who has suffered another foot injury.
Benitez said: 'Yossi is working with the physios now. We will have to see if he is fit for Newcastle; it's still too early to say.
'He and Agger are “maybes” but perhaps it will be easier for Agger than for Benayoun. Xabi should start running in the next week but he is a “no” for Newcastle, for sure.'
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utusanLFC :
there's bad and good side of this new development (if its true...LFC yet to confirm the story). Crouch has been a player that we admire with his technics and skills (very English type laaa...) and we do remember his bicycle kicks both for LFC and England.... Now, with him starting, basically we know what kind of tactics LFC will deploy, so does the opposition team. Long balls straight to him, and he will control the ball - connect it to the 2nd striker to try. Or he might fancy it himself. Sometimes it work, sometimes not. Depending on what type of defenders the opposition instilled to guard Crouchy. The news above, indicating that Crouch is becoming big-headed, which is not to Rafa's taste. This is something Crouch should have avoid in the 1st place. Don't annoy your boss! After all, it was Rafa's decision to take him away from that small team and make him a superstar today. Because of his standing in LFC, Crouch was picked by McClaren in the England squad. By no means it was a bad decision. Crouch's goal rate per appearance proves that this lanky man has the ability to perform well on the bigger stage, albeit most of it were smaller nations...
Perhaps, with Crouch no longer in the team... we also can count on Rafa to change totally LFC approach to the game. Since Houlliers era, the only style we know of LFC is the long ball kick. Big man small man approach (Heskey, Owen). Now we have a team of marvellously superstrikers in Torres and Voronin and the hardworking Kuyt... May be we could see more open play. More arsenal if you may. But above all, we really don't need to change that much. We are what we are today because it has been our way! If long ball is our distinctive style, critised by many as absolute boring... so be it. Because that what made us LFC in the 1st place. If we change our style ala arsenal... we'll lose our true colours of REDS. Gerrard is a known player who will crash on anyone who stand on his path. Imagine Gerrard playing one-pass ball and like pussy avoiding the defenders. What we crave is a typical, origional English football. Blood and brave!!! arsenal is nothing near it. We don't need to emulate any. We have our own. And opposition teams are worried of it.
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