Roy Hodgson says Fernando Torres is not for sale after talks in Spain
The Liverpool manager, Roy Hodgson, has said that the club's star striker and prize asset, Fernando Torres, is not for sale at any price after talks with the player in Spain.
The 26-year-old has been the subject of persistent speculation linking him with a transfer away from Anfield this summer. Chelsea, Manchester City and Barcelona have all been mentioned as potential destinations but Hodgson, having met Torres this week, has emphasised his determination to keep him.
"I have met with Fernando. I found him to be a very pleasant man and we had a nice conversation," said Hodgson, who is now at Liverpool's pre-season training camp in Switzerland. "As far as we are concerned he is a Liverpool player and we want him to remain a Liverpool player. He is not for sale and we don't welcome any offers for him.
"We want to keep him. My conversation with him was only short because I had to leave to come to the training camp in Switzerland. We spoke about football, the World Cup, his injury, and I told him how much I am looking forward to working with him.
"Christian Purslow [the managing director] was also at the meeting and chatted to Fernando for a lot longer after I left but my chat with him was only about football matters."
Hodgson was equally forthright on the subject of captain Steven Gerrard's future, but the picture concerning Argentina's Javier Mascherano is unclear. The pair, who also have not begun pre-season training yet, have also been linked with moves elsewhere. Gerrard is rumoured to be a target of Real Madrid while Mascherano's agent has claimed Internazionale are interested in his client.
"I have met with Steven and thought the talks were positive," he said. "We are in a situation where we hear our players are being courted by other teams but it is all just rumours.
"What we haven't had is a club wanting to buy Steven Gerrard. Steven Gerrard is not for sale - I made that clear to him. I told him I supported the club's policy that we don't want to sell our best players and have to start building again."
But Hodgson is yet to contact Mascherano. "I have tried to contact Javier. I have left him voice messages and sent him texts but had no reply," he said. "To be fair to him, that's not unusual because he's had a tough World Cup and I believe he's gone back to Argentina. It's not always easy to get in touch with people. I have tried to reach him to make clear I am happy to talk with him at his convenience."
Hodgson, meanwhile, has played down stories linking the Reds with a move for the Nice striker Loïc Rémy. Reports this morning claimed Liverpool and Tottenham had tabled bids for the France international while West Ham were also interested. But Hodgson said: "He's a player who was mentioned to me by the scouting department and a player the club were following before I came. He's a player I know very little about. If I am going to be interested in a player I am going to have to watch him playing, study him and make judgments, which I have not been able to."
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The 26-year-old has been the subject of persistent speculation linking him with a transfer away from Anfield this summer. Chelsea, Manchester City and Barcelona have all been mentioned as potential destinations but Hodgson, having met Torres this week, has emphasised his determination to keep him.
"I have met with Fernando. I found him to be a very pleasant man and we had a nice conversation," said Hodgson, who is now at Liverpool's pre-season training camp in Switzerland. "As far as we are concerned he is a Liverpool player and we want him to remain a Liverpool player. He is not for sale and we don't welcome any offers for him.
"We want to keep him. My conversation with him was only short because I had to leave to come to the training camp in Switzerland. We spoke about football, the World Cup, his injury, and I told him how much I am looking forward to working with him.
"Christian Purslow [the managing director] was also at the meeting and chatted to Fernando for a lot longer after I left but my chat with him was only about football matters."
Hodgson was equally forthright on the subject of captain Steven Gerrard's future, but the picture concerning Argentina's Javier Mascherano is unclear. The pair, who also have not begun pre-season training yet, have also been linked with moves elsewhere. Gerrard is rumoured to be a target of Real Madrid while Mascherano's agent has claimed Internazionale are interested in his client.
"I have met with Steven and thought the talks were positive," he said. "We are in a situation where we hear our players are being courted by other teams but it is all just rumours.
"What we haven't had is a club wanting to buy Steven Gerrard. Steven Gerrard is not for sale - I made that clear to him. I told him I supported the club's policy that we don't want to sell our best players and have to start building again."
But Hodgson is yet to contact Mascherano. "I have tried to contact Javier. I have left him voice messages and sent him texts but had no reply," he said. "To be fair to him, that's not unusual because he's had a tough World Cup and I believe he's gone back to Argentina. It's not always easy to get in touch with people. I have tried to reach him to make clear I am happy to talk with him at his convenience."
Hodgson, meanwhile, has played down stories linking the Reds with a move for the Nice striker Loïc Rémy. Reports this morning claimed Liverpool and Tottenham had tabled bids for the France international while West Ham were also interested. But Hodgson said: "He's a player who was mentioned to me by the scouting department and a player the club were following before I came. He's a player I know very little about. If I am going to be interested in a player I am going to have to watch him playing, study him and make judgments, which I have not been able to."
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