Christian Purslow is adamant that if Arsenal are the only club that bids for Luis Suarez, the striker will stay at Anfield…
Former Liverpool managing director Christian Purslow says that if Arsenal remain the only side to bid for Luis Suarez, the Uruguayan will stay at Anfield, reports BBC Sport.
“If the only offer is from Arsenal I would expect Luis Suarez to stay at Liverpool,” Purslow told BBC Radio 5 live’s Sportsweek programme.
Arsenal have so far had two offers rejected for Luis Suarez, including one of £40m plus £1 that triggered a clause meaning Liverpool had to notify the player of the bid. This deviousness from the Gunners riled Liverpool, which John W. Henry now famously reacted to on his Twitter page.
What do you think they’re smoking over there at Emirates?
— John W. Henry (@John_W_Henry) July 24, 2013
Liverpool are unlikely to want to sell to a direct Premier League rival, and would much rather offload the striker, who bagged 30 in all competitions last season, to Real Madrid. If he were to leave though, Brendan Rodgers has suggested that Suarez could cost close to the £100m the Spanish side have reportedly offered for Tottenham’s Gareth Bale.
Purslow did admit though to being upset by the 26-year-old Uruguayan’s comments earlier in the summer, but understands that in this day and age a world-class performer does need to be playing Champions League football.
“It’s disappointing as a follower of Liverpool that the player has so publicly and so early in the close season made it pretty clear that he would like to move on,” said the 49-year-old Cambridge graduate.
“I’m pretty realistic about these things and it’s not that unusual for a player of that magnitude to want to play at Champions League level. That appears to be his motivation,” he continued.
If Madrid capture Bale they are not expected to move for Suarez, but if Tottenham continue to reject their advances, it is possible that the La Liga runners up could come back in for the forward as the transfer window nears its end at the end of the month.
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