KOP News # 1389

Snubbing Anfield will prove Gylfi's loss

Thursday, 05 July 2012 21:50 Darren Phillips

Brendan Rodgers has qualified his happiness with the squad currently at his disposal and feels Gylfi Sigurdsson's decision to join Tottenham Hotspur, rather than Liverpool, will be the Iceland international's loss.

A move could not be concluded due to the midfielder's wage demands. During the final days of his reign at Swansea City Rodgers was privy to the deal which would have taken Sigurdsson to the Liberty Stadium.

The Liverpool boss wasn't prepared to sanction anything too far in excess of the terms accepted. Weekly wages thought to be approaching £50,000 were much higher than would have been on offer with the South Wales outfit.

"I am quite relaxed," Rodgers said.

"He [Sigurdsson] did fantastic for me at Swansea last season. I brought him in when he was not playing at Hoffenheim. He was very good for me and scored seven goals in 19 games.

"We sat down and spoke and we said that playing football was the most important thing but obviously the financial side was important, too. We agreed a deal for Swansea but then I left to become Liverpool manager.

"I know what the market was and I was not prepared to pay anything over what I knew had already been agreed before.

"Liverpool would have provided Gylfi with a wonderful opportunity to perform with a manager that he knew at a club that is a footballing institution. But he has decided to go to Tottenham for whatever reason.

"I wish him all the best and he is a good kid. There is no ill feeling. We have got other targets and we will move on."

Major sales seem likely to be at a premium before the end of August and though there are targets in his sight Rodgers confessed that he will only sanction deals should a player add value to his current resources.

Speaking to the club's official website he added: "This window for the summer, you either had to get your business in early or it was going to run over towards the end of the window, just purely because of all the games and holidays and championships, and everything that was going on.

"We're doing a lot of work off the field in terms of potential players to come in, but it will only be a certain type of player that will fit the model here."