Kyriakos Papadopoulos' Liverpool transfer revived as the Schalke defender resumes training after knee op
Reds understood to want to pay around £12m for the Greece international once he proves his fitness on initial loan spell
Getty
Liverpool have made a fresh approach for powerful Greek international defender Kyriakos Papadopoulos.
Yet lingering concerns over the highly-rated Schalke centre-half's long term knee problem, have complicated negotiations, as the Reds try to thrash out fail-safe guarantees in any deal.
It is understood Anfield boss Brendan Rodgers - first linked with Papadopoulos in May - would ideally like to take the 21-year-old on loan initially, with a guaranteed fee of around £12million to be paid if he erases all injury doubts.
Germans Schalke would prefer the cash up front, but accept they may have to compromise over a defender who has been sidelined since November following surgery on a serious knee ligament problem.
Papadopoulos is finally back in training, with his club releasing a brief update on his condition on Tuesday, confirming his return to a full training programme and adding that he is ready to join his team-mates in contact work in the coming days.
The defender admitted his relief at clearing this latest hurdle in his comeback.
"It was a great feeling to be back... even though it was very tiring, " he said. "I make progress every day and am happy that I will soon be able to train with the team again."
Reports in Greece have claimed a deal is close, with the defender ready to prove his fitness in a full medical within the next 10 days, but so far no agreement has been reached with Schalke.
The arrival of Papadopoulos would allow Martin Skrtel to pursue the move he suggested at the end of last season he may need to reignite his faltering career, and he has been linked with a similar loan move to Napoli that Pepe Reina has just undertaken.
Liverpool however, are insistent they will not even consider a temporary deal for the 28-year-old Slovakia international, and will only allow the centre half to move if they have a replacement secured.
Should they agree terms for Papadopoulos though, they would listen to offers of around £10million for Skrtel, who fell out of favour after a series of inconsistent displays in the first half of last season.
Rodgers wants a more commanding defender, in the mould of the now-retired Jamie Carragher, and sees Papadopoulos as a potential long-term replacement for the Anfield stalwart.
Yet lingering concerns over the highly-rated Schalke centre-half's long term knee problem, have complicated negotiations, as the Reds try to thrash out fail-safe guarantees in any deal.
It is understood Anfield boss Brendan Rodgers - first linked with Papadopoulos in May - would ideally like to take the 21-year-old on loan initially, with a guaranteed fee of around £12million to be paid if he erases all injury doubts.
Germans Schalke would prefer the cash up front, but accept they may have to compromise over a defender who has been sidelined since November following surgery on a serious knee ligament problem.
Papadopoulos is finally back in training, with his club releasing a brief update on his condition on Tuesday, confirming his return to a full training programme and adding that he is ready to join his team-mates in contact work in the coming days.
The defender admitted his relief at clearing this latest hurdle in his comeback.
"It was a great feeling to be back... even though it was very tiring, " he said. "I make progress every day and am happy that I will soon be able to train with the team again."
Reports in Greece have claimed a deal is close, with the defender ready to prove his fitness in a full medical within the next 10 days, but so far no agreement has been reached with Schalke.
The arrival of Papadopoulos would allow Martin Skrtel to pursue the move he suggested at the end of last season he may need to reignite his faltering career, and he has been linked with a similar loan move to Napoli that Pepe Reina has just undertaken.
Liverpool however, are insistent they will not even consider a temporary deal for the 28-year-old Slovakia international, and will only allow the centre half to move if they have a replacement secured.
Should they agree terms for Papadopoulos though, they would listen to offers of around £10million for Skrtel, who fell out of favour after a series of inconsistent displays in the first half of last season.
Rodgers wants a more commanding defender, in the mould of the now-retired Jamie Carragher, and sees Papadopoulos as a potential long-term replacement for the Anfield stalwart.
Check out all the latest News, Sport & Celeb gossip at Mirror.co.uk http://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/transfer-news/liverpool-transfers-kyriakos-papadopoulos-schalke-2106035#ixzz2abbUSrVi
No comments:
Post a Comment