[lfc-news]£7m price tag on Baros - Post

Liverpool Daily Post, 25 July 2005
£7m price tag on Baros
By Ian Doyle, Daily Post Staff

ASTON VILLA have been told they must pay £7million if they are to prise
Milan Baros away from Liverpool.

The Midlands club made a £5m offer for the Czech striker last week as
they finally made an official move for their long-time transfer target.

But Anfield officials rejected the approach, with Liverpool seeking to
recoup the money spent in signing Peter Crouch from Southampton.

Baros, who scored twice for Liverpool in Saturday's 4-3 friendly win
against Olympiakos in Liechtenstein, has been told by manager Rafael
Benitez that he can leave the club.

Doubts were raised over the striker's future after he was an unused
substitute in the first leg of the Champions League first qualifying
match against TNS Llansantffraid and then failed to make the squad
altogether for the second leg.

That enabled Baros to remain eligible for European competition, making
him a more attractive proposition to potential suitors. And despite the
insistence of the player that he will fight for his place, the
subsequent arrival of £7m signing Crouch has effectively signalled the
end of his Anfield career.

Both Lyon and Valencia were linked with Baros in the close season, while
West Ham have recently declared an interest and Deportivo La Coruna are
mulling over a move.

Villa manager David O'Leary, who tried to sign Baros last summer only to
be rebuffed, remains confident he can persuade the 23-year-old to move
to Villa Park but must find another £2m before Liverpool consider
allowing the striker to depart.

Benitez's attempts to bring Luis Figo to Anfield have taken another
twist with the player indicating he is prepared to play out the final
year of his contract at Real Madrid.

Liverpool had agreed personal terms with the Portuguese international
and were poised to complete his signing when Real reneged on an
agreement to allow Figo to depart on a free transfer.

That prompted Inter Milan to declare their interest in Figo, only for
the player's wage demands to prove prohibitive.

Real are now willing to let Figo leave for free, providing the
32-year-old does not ask to be paid up on the final year of his contract.

But that has prompted the midfielder to contemplate reconsidering his
plan to leave and hint he would happy to stay and fight for his place at
Real.

"It's difficult for a player," said Figo.

"I know I'm not first or second choice, but I want to see out my contract.

"I will do all I can for my club."

Meanwhile, Celta Vigo have claimed they are close to completing a deal
for Liverpool winger Antonio Nunez. The 26-year-old, who arrived from
Real Madrid last summer as part of the deal that saw Michael Owen move
to the Bernabeu, has been given permission to leave.

And the Spanish club's president Horacio Gomez said: "We are close to
sealing the signing.

"We want to make our team competitive and for that reason we are
carrying out important changes for the present and the future."

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