If anyone thought that after spending over €130 million this summer alone, AS Monaco would take it easy in the transfer market. Guess again, as it seems the newly promoted side with no league to play in yet is going after Daniel Agger of Liverpool.
According to the L’Eqipue, Agger is the next name on the list for the Ligue 2 champions who are hoping to eventually get themselves accepted into Ligue 1 despite all the financial disagreements, after already adding Falcao, James Rodriguez, Joao Moutinho, Ricardo Carvalho and Nicolas Isimat-Mirin, even though Agger has shown over the last couple of seasons he has no interest in leaving Anfield.
Manchester City and other teams were very interested in signing him last year, but instead Agger got himself a Liverpool tattoo and extended his deal with the club, keeping him on until 2016. He didn’t have the best of seasons in 2012-2013, as the changes next to him at the centre back position and generally all around the defense weren’t that productive, but his ability to remain healthy over the last couple of season has been a stand out compared to the rest of his career, not to mention usually displaying quite impressive ability as both a stopper and as someone who can build up attacks from the back.
Monaco will probably have to depart from at least £15-20 million in order to sign him, possibly even more, as an offer of the same magnitude from Manchester City was turned down last season. Playing in the French league for a rich club might be an incentive in terms of salary, but Agger isn’t exactly getting fed breadcrumbs at Anfield, and playing in the Premier League, even without Europe, is usually a better option in the eyes of most players.
Still, it seems Monaco are here to stay, at least for the time being. Looking just as persistent and dominating in the market as PSG began their ascent with a couple of years ago, it seems no player is “safe” from their attention, making offers teams, players and managers seem very hard to refuse.