KOP News # 1392

Liverpool: Rodgers Would 'Love' Bellamy To Stay

 

Reds boss Brendan Rodgers has revealed a positive discussion with Craig Bellamy and has no intention of letting club and player go their separate ways for now.

Bellamy, 32, was recently linked with a move to hometown team Cardiff City with whom he had a season long loan spell before rejoining Liverpool from Manchester City last summer.

"I had a really positive chat with Craig on Monday," Rodgers told the Liverpool Echo.

"It was good to meet him and get his side of the Liverpool story. He's a big supporter of this club - he loves the club.

"He's a good guy. He has a real passion for Liverpool Football Club and that's the type of people I want here.

"I like his intensity, his work-rate and his passion so I would love him to be here.

"He's a player. It would take a really special and unique opportunity for Craig to walk out of Liverpool and for us to go our separate ways.

"If anything changes on that from a personal perspective then him and I will talk about that."

Despite the positive noises, Rodgers will have to wait sometime until he can work closely with the Welsh international after Team GB boss Stuart Pearce picked Bellamy for his Olympic Games squad.

They will remain in contact however and Rodgers added: "Craig is off now for the Olympics but we have promised to keep in touch.

"He's obviously got a year left on his contract and going forward we will discuss more where he's at.

"This week was really just a formal introduction. Of those who aren't back, I've spoken to a lot of players over the phone and met one or two. In particular the senior players I'm keen to chat to and meet with.

"Craig and I had a really good chat about football in general. He has probably seen closer more than anyone at the club how I worked down at Swansea.

"He was very complimentary about that work and thinks I'll be a perfect fit for here."

Elsewhere, Joe Cole has expressed his desire to also stay at Anfield and make a success of his move from Chelsea after a loan spell in France last season.

"I don't want to leave Liverpool one day having not been a success here or having left something here," the 30-year-old midfielder told the club's official website Liverpoolfc.com.

"I want to make an imprint at the club. I've been a success at West Ham, Chelsea and Lille - I don't want people to be able to say that I haven't here.

"I'd like to be given the opportunity to play, learn and improve, and join this great team. It's a great group and I would like to be involved in this team and really push on."

With the players who did not feature at the European Championships now back at Melwood for pre-season training, the club will start to step up preparations for the new season this week.

Vital Verdict
Good news for the club. We are desperately short of attacking players and you can never have enough experienced players with the kind of passion and commitment Bellamy possesses. Whether up front or out wide, he did well when called upon last season and still appears to have a couple of years ahead of him at the top level. The same goes for Cole to a certain extent. If he can rediscover the form of old he can still have a future at Liverpool. Players with his creativity and technical ability are hard to find - especially British ones.