Kenny Dalglish said he was in the market for a marquee signing to lift Liverpool as Anfield officials attempt to agree a fee with Ajax for their captain and prolific goalscorer, Luis Suárez.
The Liverpool manager held further talks on potential recruits with the chairman, Tom Werner, and the principal owner, John W Henry, on Wednesday and the club's hierarchy has confirmed money is available for major signings provided they believe the deal represents good value. Suárez, the Uruguay international who has scored 110 goals in 154 appearances for Ajax, is the first test of Fenway Sports Group's ambitions in the transfer market as it endeavours to provide Fernando Torres with much-needed, proven support.
Ajax have informed Liverpool they want at least €25m (£21m) for a striker who turns 24 next week and is serving a seven-match suspension for biting an opponent. Their coach, Frank de Boer, is reluctant to lose his leading forward as he challenges for the title in his debut season but the Dutch club are also under financial pressure having posted losses of €21m for the 2009-10 season. Liverpool have proposed a fee closer to £18m and, with Suárez in favour of a move to Merseyside, are hopeful of reaching agreement with Ajax in this transfer window.
Dalglish has refused to confirm any transfer targets and his first signing in temporary charge of Liverpool may not be so well-known as he addresses several weaknesses in the squad. The Aston Villa left-back Stephen Warnock, for example, could return to his former club on loan until the end of this season. However, following a miserable campaign, modest spending in recent transfer windows and with key players wanting to be convinced of renewed ambition at Anfield, Dalglish admitted the club are in need of a significant signing this month.
"It's important for us as a football club to give the supporters a lift and the players a lift," he said. "If we can get someone in who will improve what we have, great. Players themselves want competition and they maybe get a lift when a new player comes in.
"That's what we will try and do but it has got to be someone decent. We are not going to get someone in just for the sake of having them. If we get a few players in, the first one might not be the headline signing. It might be something we need to help support the squad. Everyone would love to see someone brought in who is really going to whet the appetite and we will try our best to do that."
FSG has not set a strict transfer budget but, as Liverpool's interest in Suárez, Villa's Ashley Young and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain of Southampton illustrates, the owners are prepared to pursue expensive targets this month.
Liverpool's director of football strategy, Damien Comolli, told Canal+ Sport: "We are looking for an offensive player because the team is lacking in speed. And as far as Suárez is concerned, at the moment there is no dialogue with Ajax. He is one of the players we are interested in. Will he be available in January? This is another story. For Young, if he is on the market then we will be interested. But I don't believe that is the case."
Dalglish said: "Everybody wants to see fresh faces at the football club, whether you are a player, manager, owner or supporter. If they can help us, we will do our best to get them in but we are not going to bring someone in just to say we have got a signing.
"I had a positive meeting with Tom and John yesterday. There is no problem with transfers as long as we are responsible. We can go and look for players and try and sign players and bring them in here. We are not going to give names and comment on individual players and sums of money.
"Every time I have been in the transfer market I have been responsible and I will continue to do that. I will spend the club's money as diligently as I would spend my own."
Liverpool had hoped to generate additional funds by selling Ryan Babel to Hoffenheim for £5.8m but the Holland international, who is keen on returning to Ajax as part of a deal for Suárez, is deliberating over a move to Germany. Dalglish said: "Ryan is considering what he wants to do, which is only right. You need three parties to agree for a transfer to happen. He trained here yesterday as though nothing had happened."
Dalglish has denied suggestions that Joe Cole's appearance for the reserves on Wednesday was a reflection of the England international's poor form at Anfield. Cole played 45 minutes of the 1-0 win over Manchester City in the Lancashire Senior Cup, but his manager said: "It was beneficial for everybody. It is all very well training but you still need a runabout on the pitch. Some people look at reserve-team football for first-team players as a punishment but this was a necessity for everybody. It wasn't a punishment in any way, shape or form and, if it was a punishment, the players would have been told that. It was just a worthwhile experience."
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