It looks like Liverpool’s attempts in keeping Daniel Agger are facing another roadblock, as Barcelona increase their interest in the Danish central defender, hoping that a €20 million bid will be enough to sign him, although a similar bid by Manchester City was rejected this week.
Barcelona have been more interested in signing Javi Martinez from Bilbao, who is part of the miserably failing Spanish side in the Olympic games, but the Basque’s request and persistence to get €40 million for the 23 year old who has made a shift last season from central midfielder to a more defensive role has shifted Barcelona’s interest to Agger.
Agger, only recently hit with the news that Manchester City, Barcelona and possibly Real Madrid are interested in his services, which are quite good as long as he’s healthy, which never lasts for a whole season (only 119 league matches since 2006) because of his injuries and not his ability, has already told Brendan Rodgers he wants a deal to be made with one of these teams. Liverpool have already rejected two bids from Manchester City, but maybe an offer from a team that isn’t a Premier League side will persuade Liverpool directors to accept the offer.
Barcelona had quite a rotation going on last season at centre back, as Guardiola shifted to a 3-4-3 system in many matches while trying to cover for the many injuries of Calres Puyol and Gerard Pique, using Sergio Busquets and Javier Mascherano for large stretches of the season as central defenders. How good was it? Well, pretty good, but Barcelona did have a certain fragility that wasn’t there in the previous three seasons, but it wasn’t all about the problems in their defense.
Agger, who appeared in 33 matches, scoring two goals and adding four assists for Liverpool in all competitions last season is extremely desirable because he’s a rare left-footed centre back, with more than just defending ability. Agger is a big threat with his head and with his long range shooting ability, handling the ball better than many midfielders. Brendan Rodgers is saying that Agger isn’t going anywhere, but you can’t keep rejecting good offers forever, especially if your player would like to play somewhere else.