Alan Gilliver
New member
- Oct 18, 2006
- 78
I thought Dick accepted the dosh from Ellis in full and final settlement. Any one know different to the Birmingham Mail?
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DOUG ELLIS has urged Liverpool to “dig deep” to sign Gareth Barry - as Villa today rejected a second cash bid of £13million for their skipper.
Liverpool faxed Villa with the offer last night which upped their £12 million bid of some three weeks ago but is way short of Villa's asking price.
A club statement said: "Liverpool's latest attempt to prise club captain Gareth Barry away from Villa Park has failed. A new bid was received late last night but was rejected."
A club spokesman added: "The offer was a slight improvement on a previous bid but our position on the issue remains unchanged and Liverpool have been informed."
Ellis says a fee of no less than £15 million and up to £20 million would be a fair asking price for the Villa skipper.
Rafa Benitez is on the verge of netting £14.2million for Xavi Alonso from Juventus, according to the latest reports in Italy, and around £4 million from John Arne Riise's sale to Roma.
It is clear that Martin O'Neill wants most of that £18million for 27 year-old Barry - and former chairman Ellis agrees.
“If he goes, and I fear he will as Steven Gerrard has been begging him - right now I wouldn’t sell him for less than £15million” said Ellis.
“I am proud of the fact that we took a bit of a gamble and paid £500,000 for him and Michael Standing ten years ago. On the financial side at least, paying half a million for Barry and selling him for £20 million, hopefully, if that is the sale price is not a bad deal.
“If I was advising Liverpool, I would say: ‘dig deep’ because he is such a good asset. It will be a big loss and I would fight like hell to keep him, but of course I am no longer there.”
Ellis says that Barry will be irreplaceable at Villa Park.
“It doesn’t matter what Liverpool pay, he is such a good player and such a good professional.
“He is a family man. I got to know his mother and father who are both great people.
“I made him our highest earner at Villa and he deserved it. We all saw that pass he made for Gerrard’s goal (against the USA). I saw it on TV from my place in Parma. It was sublime.”
Villa will have to pay Brighton 15 per cent of the profit over and above the £1 million paid for Barry as set by a tribunal in 1999.
Ellis can see the reasoning behind Barry's decisoon to leave. He added: “He sees the Champions League as something that he should be in, playing international football.
"His friend is Gerrard, they room together for the internationals and as such he is being persuaded to go there."
O’Neill is already working hard on potential replacements even though Gareth Barry is not yet out of the door.
Despite interest from Manchester City a deal for Chelsea midfielder Steve Sidwell remains on the cards and moved a step closer with last night’s appointment of Luiz Felipe Scolari as Chelsea manager.
Any transfer may still be kept on hold until July 1 when the Portuguese boss is formally installed.
Fulham midfielder Jimmy Bullard remains high on O’Neill’s wish-list and the midfielder is understood to be keen on a move to Villa despite his manager Roy Hodgson’s public insistence that there will be no sale.
O’Neill is also in for Crystal Palace teenager Shaun Scannell, he has Spurs midfielder Tom Huddlestone in his sights and is watching developments with regards to James Milner and Aaron Lennon.
With Napoli completing the signing yesterday of Christian Maggio for a reported fee of £6 million, O’Neill is thought to be considering granting Pascal Chimbonda’s wish of completing a £2million deal whilst up-and-coming Sporting Braga right-back Joao Pereira has now come to his attention.
The 24-year-old Portuguese defender has been linked to FC Porto following the departure of former Villa target Jose Bosingwa to Chelsea.
/
DOUG ELLIS has urged Liverpool to “dig deep” to sign Gareth Barry - as Villa today rejected a second cash bid of £13million for their skipper.
Liverpool faxed Villa with the offer last night which upped their £12 million bid of some three weeks ago but is way short of Villa's asking price.
A club statement said: "Liverpool's latest attempt to prise club captain Gareth Barry away from Villa Park has failed. A new bid was received late last night but was rejected."
A club spokesman added: "The offer was a slight improvement on a previous bid but our position on the issue remains unchanged and Liverpool have been informed."
Ellis says a fee of no less than £15 million and up to £20 million would be a fair asking price for the Villa skipper.
Rafa Benitez is on the verge of netting £14.2million for Xavi Alonso from Juventus, according to the latest reports in Italy, and around £4 million from John Arne Riise's sale to Roma.
It is clear that Martin O'Neill wants most of that £18million for 27 year-old Barry - and former chairman Ellis agrees.
“If he goes, and I fear he will as Steven Gerrard has been begging him - right now I wouldn’t sell him for less than £15million” said Ellis.
“I am proud of the fact that we took a bit of a gamble and paid £500,000 for him and Michael Standing ten years ago. On the financial side at least, paying half a million for Barry and selling him for £20 million, hopefully, if that is the sale price is not a bad deal.
“If I was advising Liverpool, I would say: ‘dig deep’ because he is such a good asset. It will be a big loss and I would fight like hell to keep him, but of course I am no longer there.”
Ellis says that Barry will be irreplaceable at Villa Park.
“It doesn’t matter what Liverpool pay, he is such a good player and such a good professional.
“He is a family man. I got to know his mother and father who are both great people.
“I made him our highest earner at Villa and he deserved it. We all saw that pass he made for Gerrard’s goal (against the USA). I saw it on TV from my place in Parma. It was sublime.”
Villa will have to pay Brighton 15 per cent of the profit over and above the £1 million paid for Barry as set by a tribunal in 1999.
Ellis can see the reasoning behind Barry's decisoon to leave. He added: “He sees the Champions League as something that he should be in, playing international football.
"His friend is Gerrard, they room together for the internationals and as such he is being persuaded to go there."
O’Neill is already working hard on potential replacements even though Gareth Barry is not yet out of the door.
Despite interest from Manchester City a deal for Chelsea midfielder Steve Sidwell remains on the cards and moved a step closer with last night’s appointment of Luiz Felipe Scolari as Chelsea manager.
Any transfer may still be kept on hold until July 1 when the Portuguese boss is formally installed.
Fulham midfielder Jimmy Bullard remains high on O’Neill’s wish-list and the midfielder is understood to be keen on a move to Villa despite his manager Roy Hodgson’s public insistence that there will be no sale.
O’Neill is also in for Crystal Palace teenager Shaun Scannell, he has Spurs midfielder Tom Huddlestone in his sights and is watching developments with regards to James Milner and Aaron Lennon.
With Napoli completing the signing yesterday of Christian Maggio for a reported fee of £6 million, O’Neill is thought to be considering granting Pascal Chimbonda’s wish of completing a £2million deal whilst up-and-coming Sporting Braga right-back Joao Pereira has now come to his attention.
The 24-year-old Portuguese defender has been linked to FC Porto following the departure of former Villa target Jose Bosingwa to Chelsea.
