 Suarez stunner ends South Korean hopes Liverpool have agreed a fee to sign Uruguayan striker Luis Suarez from Dutch club Ajax for £23m. The deal for the 24-year-old striker is subject to Suarez passing a medical and agreeing personal terms with the Premier League club. Liverpool initially bid £12.7m for Suarez, but Ajax told them to come back with a more "respectful" offer. That led to Liverpool almost doubling their offer to tempt the Dutch giants to sell the forward. Clubs usually have to pay a premium to sign players during the January transfer window - Bosnia striker Edin Dzeko reportedly cost Manchester City £27m earlier this month - and Ajax will make a £16.6m profit on a player they bought from Groningen for £6.4m in 2007.
During his spell with the Amsterdam club Suarez scored 111 goals in 159 appearances. His scoring ratio for Uruguay is one goal in every three internationals, having scored 10 times in 30 games, including three goals in last summer's World Cup. The Uruguayan has just finished serving a seven-match ban for biting PSV Eindhoven's Otman Bakkal on the shoulder in a league match in November. "I can understand Luis wanting to go to Liverpool, it's a beautiful club, but then it has to be satisfying for both parties," said Ajax manager Frank de Boer. Suarez is the first major signing for Liverpool's new owners, Fenway Sports Group, since it bought the club in October. However, it comes at a time when the Reds have just turned down an offer from Premier League rivals Chelsea of about £35m for Fernando Torres and the focus is likely to remain on whether the Spaniard will be sold in the next few days.
The 26-year-old Torres has struggled for form so far this season but has scored nine goals in 26 appearances for the Reds. Suarez was at the centre of controversy when he was sent off in Uruguay's World Cup quarter-final against Ghana for handling the ball on the line to keep out Dominic Adiyah's goalbound header in the last minute of the game. Ghana missed the subsequent spot-kick and were beaten in a penalty shoot-out - with Suarez celebrating from the sidelines. Last weekend Suarez, who has scored seven goals in the Dutch league this season, spoke of his desire to play in the Premier League. "I used to think that English football was not my style," the Uruguayan, who turned 24 on Monday, told the Sunday Times. "But I saw Carlos Tevez play at Boca and Corinthians and I never imagined that he would play in the Premier League. "When I see the way that Tevez plays there I think I can be a big name in England. It's because of the energy, and the spirit they put into the game in England. Now, I think it's a kind of football that suits me." | ||||
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