Real lining up £15m bid for Glen Johnson
Monday, June 14, 2010
Real Madrid plan to move for Liverpool defender Glen Johnson should they fail to prise Brazilian Maicon away from Inter Milan. Inter’s new boss Rafael Benitez is unwilling to let the Brazil international leave the club as an important part of the team that won the Triple last season.
Mourinho is said to have named Johnson as an ideal replacement for the Brazilian and the attack-oriented defender could cost Real as much as £15 million from the crisis-torn Anfield giants.
Maicon was recently called a “crack” player by Mourinho and it is no secret that the Portuguese rates him highly and wants to bring the player across to the Bernabeu. However, with Benitez now having been appointed as Inter’s new coach, there is likely to be an impasse in transfer dealings as both coaches have been at loggerheads with each other since their days in the Premier League with Chelsea and Liverpool respectively.
Mourinho will thus look to raid Benitez’s former club for a former player as Johnson used to play under the Portuguese at Stamford Bridge. However, it is a question how much the former Chelsea coach rates the England defender since Johnson was subsequently flogged to Portsmouth just weeks before the Portuguese was sacked from his post.
But Mourinho wants to add greater depth to his defensive options and Johnson is highly sought after for the attacking alternatives he presents to any side, similar to what Maicon can offer although both players’ defensive abilities are far apart in comparison.
Liverpool will be keen to add £15 million to their coffers with American co-owners in desperate need of cash to service their impending loan interest payments. Rumours are rife that they are willing to let the incoming Liverpool manager decide on which players to leave and stay but history has shown that the Americans rarely, if ever, keep their word. |
