Liverpool and Tottenham target Junior Hoilett to stay at Blackburn after club sets 8 million pounds asking price

More On :  Blackburn , Liverpool, Tottenham, Junior Hoilett

Getty Images

Liverpool and Tottenham both tried to sign Junior Hoilett in January but were put off after Blackburn set an asking price of 8 million pounds, Goal.com can reveal.

Don't Miss

• Redknapp: No Tottenham enquiry for Hoilett

The winger has been described by well-placed sources as ‘almost certain’ to stay at Ewood Park until his contract expires in the summer after Blackburn priced him out of a move.

Both Spurs and Liverpool have made inquiries for the 21-year-old but were deterred by Blackburn’s price tag as manager Steve Kean seeks to keep his best players in the club’s bid to avoid relegation this season.

Hoilett is keen to test himself at a bigger club and has decided to leave Blackburn at the end of the season amid interest from leading Premier League outfits. Kenny Dalglish and Harry Redknapp will be leading the queue of clubs looking to recruit the Canadian in the summer.

If Hoilett leaves Ewood Park after running down his contract, Blackburn will be entitled to compensation for ‘training costs’, most likely to be set by tribunal, as he is a product of their youth system.

That sum is likely to be less than half the 8 million pounds Blackburn wanted this month but provides the Premier League strugglers with some financial protection as Hoilett runs down his deal.

View the original article here

Premier League Preview: Wolves - Liverpool

Getty

PROBABLE LINEUPS

WOLVES Hennessey Stearman, Johnson, Berra, Ward Kightly, Milijas, Edwards, Jarvis Ebanks-Blake, Fletcher

LIVERPOOL Reina Johnson, Skrtel, Agger, Enrique Kuyt, Gerrard, Henderson, Adam, Bellamy Carroll

Wolves are short in the center of midfield with Karl Henry suspended following his red card against Aston Villa, while Emmanuel Frimpong and Jamie O’Hara are out injured so Nenad Milijas is likely to be handed a start.

With Kevin Doyle currently out of favor, starting just once in the last six Premier League games, Sylvain Ebanks-Blake is likely to partner top scorer Steven Fletcher upfront.

Liverpool manager Kenny Dalglish has a near full squad to choose from and is likely to name a similar side to the one that defeated Manchester United in the FA Cup on Sunday, although Craig Bellamy may take the place of Stewart Downing.

Lucas Leiva and Jay Spearing are the only absentees though the visitors have plenty of cover in the center of midfield.

DID YOU KNOW?

• In the last meeting between the two sides at Molineux Liverpool was a 3-0 winner with Fernando Torres scoring twice – the last goals he scored for the club before his 50 million pound switch to Chelsea

• Wolves have only defeated Liverpool once in seven Premier League attempts.

• In past league meetings this game averages 1.57 goals a game.

• Wolves have not won in the Premier League at home since beating Sunderland 2-1 on the Dec. 4.

• Liverpool has registered just one Premier League away victory in its last five attempts.

• Mick McCarthy’s (right) men are on a current run of nine Premier League games without a win.

• Kenny Dalglish’s side is also on a dip in the league at the moment – winning just once in its last six.

• Despite Liverpool’s league position of 7th and Wolves respective position of 19th, the two sides have scored the same amount of Premier League goals this season – 25.

Liverpool chairman dismisses rumors that signing of Stewart Downing was inspired by fake YouTube video

Getty Images

Liverpool chairman Tom Werner has been forced to dismiss rumors that the club signed Stewart Downing on the basis of a YouTube video.

The England international has yet to score or assist a Premier League goal despite featuring in every league game so far this season, and a report emerged last week that chairman Werner and owner John Henry’s decision to sign the England international in a 20 million pound deal was influenced by a doctored video.

The YouTube clip featured the winger slotting balls into wheelie bins from long range, and the stories were supported by quotes from Werner from a dated interview with the club’s official TV channel.

Werner has since denied the rumors, and explained that important details had been left out of the story.

He told the club's official website: "Someone told me about this. It's a great story, but unfortunately for the person who wrote the piece, it isn't true.

"It actually comes from an interview I did five months ago with [Liverpool managing director] Ian Ayre for our club TV channel in which I said that when we first talked about signing Stewart, we'd found a video of him kicking footballs into some trash cans.

"I explained in that interview back in August we knew the footage had been doctored, but I guess that detail doesn't really help stand up the story. The amount of people involved and the work that goes into a signing a player is huge so the suggestion that we'd buy someone on the back of one doctored video is ridiculous."