Liverpool may be making big waves in the transfer market with big money moves for the likes of Southampton captain Adam Lallana and highly rated Benfica winger Lazar Markovic on the cusp of being completed, but the Reds have been less successful shipping out the dead weight with Oussama Assaidi the latest player stuck in limbo.
There’s been much made of the fates of Pepe Reina and Fabio Borini, but the Moroccan international always looked likely to complete a move to the Potteries on a permanent basis after impressing on loan there last season. Although his fitness was a concern following some injury problems back in February, the hierarchy at the Britannia remained keen on snapping up the jet-heeled winger — that is, until they realized his price isn’t all that negotiable.
The Anfield outfit are believed to have slapped a £7mil price-tag on the 25-year old, and though Stoke City chief executive Tony Scholes was quick to re-iterate their desire to reach and agreement, it sounds like they’re still at a stalemate with the Reds over the asking price. “As the chairman and the manager have already said, he’s a player we like. He did very well last year and settled in” he explained. “Everything points to it being a good match for both the club and the player. “But, at the moment, the prices we are being quoted are just wrong.”
Although Liverpool’s summer spending doesn’t appear to be hinged on boss Brendan Rodgers ability to flog players off after the club secured Champions League football for the first time since 2009, but it’s believed that they’re looking to raise somewhere in the region of £30mil to both supplement their existing budget and stay well within UEFA’s strict Financial Fair Play rules. It’s going to be a long summer, but it sounds like the Reds transfer committee may have to start looking for a new home for Assaidi.
