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Chelsea hope to beat Liverpool in Glen Johnson move
19 Jun 2009Chelsea could hijack Liverpool's move for Glen Johnson after having their £17.5million bid accepted by Portsmouth.
Liverpool boss Rafael Benitez was hoping to seal a deal for the England full-back this week after Portsmouth gave the green light to their offer.
But Chelsea have now stepped in and hope that the promise of a more lucrative wage packet will persuade the 24-year-old to return to Stamford Bridge, even though he had a disappointing four years there before moving to Portsmouth in 2007.
Pompey executive chairman Peter Storrie said: "The matter will come to a conclusion at the beginning of next week. I do not have a preference over the move, it is up to Glen. The deals are almost identical so it really is down to him and what club he prefers, which one is going to pay him more money."
Meanwhile, Fernando Torres has brushed off transfer speculation by insisting he will stay at Liverpool for as long as he is wanted.
The striker said: "There is a lot of belief at the club and a lot of trust in the manager. I sincerely believe I will win the Premier League and the European Cup here. I want to be involved in a little piece of their history."
Reader views (3)
He chose Chelsea because they are nearer to his home and for the same money what would you do ?
- Joe, Swanley Kent, 19/06/2009 18:22
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This can only be because we are looking at the champions league rule of having six home produced players. Bossingwa is the better player by a mile and would be even better next year but maybe its something to do with Ribbery
- Dzonu, London, 19/06/2009 17:55
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If Johnson has any sense he'll go to Liverpool. Arbeloa is almost certainly on his way out so the right-back position will be his hands down.
Whereas Chelsea may yet keep Bosingwa, while they still also have Ferreira, Belleti and even Ivanovic on their books who can play right back.
If Johnson moves to Chelski he'll face stiff competition for his place and if things don't go well they will happily fork out another £20 million for someone to replace him, just as they did last time he was there.
At Liverpool the position will be his and his alone, and he's less likely to be replaced the moment the club fail to win something.
- Dan, London, 19/06/2009 13:06
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