EXCLUSIVE: RAFA ON GLEN JOHNSON
Jimmy Rice 26 June 2009
Rafa Benitez took five minutes to chat to Liverpoolfc.tv about his first major acquisition ahead of the 2009-10 season.
Why did you decide to bring Glen Johnson to the club? We were thinking about bringing in players with quality - that's the first thing. He is also English and that is important for the Champions League list. We were thinking about improving the team and Johnson is a very good player who will do that.
What will he give us? He was important at Chelsea and in the last year at Portsmouth he has improved and is much better. One of the main things is his mentality - it's really good. He is a winner. I was impressed with the conversations I had with him. He wants to improve.
Does he represent value for money? We knew the market was going to be difficult this summer and some of it has been crazy. Manchester City and Chelsea were there - they were making offers. We had to be quick and the club acted quickly. It was down to the player whether he chose us or City or Chelsea and he chose us. It was very clear from talking to him that he wanted to play for Liverpool.
What does this mean for Alvaro Arbeloa?
Arbeloa was a good player for us last year. The thing is, he has one year left on his contract. We have offered him an extension and we're talking. He is our player but if there is a good offer we have to consider it. We have two or three clubs asking about him. He would like to stay but he knows the competition will be hard.
Can fans expect any more signings?
We are working and trying to bring new players in but we are happy with the squad we have at the moment. We were thinking about improving and with Johnson we have improved. Like I have already said, we could buy one more player without selling anyone. We now have to wait.
http://www.liverpoolfc.tv/news/drilldown/N164869090626-1555.htm
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