Gerrard no makeweight: Liverpool are to resist Real Madrid's attempts to include a first option on Steven Gerrard in the deal which is ultimately expected to see Fernando Morientes swap Spain for Merseyside, reports Dominic Fifield.
Negotiations between the two clubs over the transfer of the Spanish international striker are ongoing, with Liverpool's opening bid of £3.5 million having been swiftly rejected.
Real now intend to push for a deal which would see Morientes as a makeweight to secure a first option on Gerrard should the midfielder leave Anfield, though the Liverpool chief executive Rick Parry will resist when talks resume today.
The club's board will not allow Gerrard's future to be included at any stage of the deal involving Morientes, even if their refusal to consider that possibility effectively ups the price they have to pay for the 28-year-old and prolongs negotiations.
Instead they remain confident that a compromise can still be reached with Real ahead of the opening of the transfer window next month.
Morientes has made no secret of his desire to move to Anfield having slipped down the pecking order at the Bernabeu this season, not least since the Spanish club recruited Michael Owen from Liverpool in August.
The £7 million asking price upon which Real are currently insisting is out of the Premiership club's reach - particularly as the player will command wages in excess of £50,000 a week - though an improved bid of around £5 million could yet secure Morientes' arrival without needing to involve Gerrard at all.
Morientes' agent, Gines Carvajal, claimed last night there could yet be late interest from other European clubs, though that appears to be an attempt to quicken negotiations.
Guardian Service
'It wasn't me' - Bellamy
Craig Bellamy, who along with Patrick Kluivert is one of four Newcastle United players who are the subject of a complaint from The Ritz Hotel in London, dismissed the allegation of poor conduct last night.
Newcastle's manager Graeme Souness had confirmed after Newcastle's defeat at Liverpool on Sunday that he had received a letter from The Ritz and Bellamy said: "There is no story. What are we supposed to have done?
"All that happened was that when I went back to the hotel they would not give me my key. So I said to them let me go to the room and get my bags and give me my money back.
"They rang a guy who said it was all right for me to go to the room. Patrick is used to stories like this in Spain but he cannot believe it. There's no story - it's not even laughable."
Souness agreed with that summary and Newcastle will not take it any further.
Bellamy missed Sunday's Liverpool defeat with a back injury.
Spurs to sign a Czech
Tottenham are poised to sign the Czech Republic under-21 international midfielder David Limbersky on loan until the end of the season. The Viktoria Plzen player will join in the January transfer window on a six-month deal, with Tottenham having the option to sign him permanently.
Parker on pause
The Chelsea midfielder Scott Parker may be out of fashion at Stamford Bridge but that has not prevented him from suffering the most modish of footballing injuries. Following in the cast-bound footsteps of David Beckham and Steven Gerrard, Parker has fractured his metatarsal and will miss the Christmas programme and beyond.
In brief . . .
The FA is to investigate the violence during Sunday's Championship 1-1 draw between Leeds United and Millwall when police made 10 arrests . . . Birmingham's chairman David Gold says midfielder Robbie Savage is not for sale amid speculation that Blackburn are preparing a £2 million bid for the Welsh international . . . Jose Antonio Reyes is out of Arsenal's Christmas holiday programme after twisting a knee in training . . . Real Madrid defender Jonathan Woodgate is hoping to end an eight-month injury layoff by making his long-awaited debut for the Primera Liga side in January.
