Roma striker Fabio Borini set to join Liverpool in next 24 hours
Friday 13 July 2012
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Striker Fabio Borini will become Brendan Rodgers' first signing as Liverpool manager within the next 24 hours.
The 21-year-old's medical and discussions over personal terms will be completed today and the formalities for his transfer from Roma will be done shortly afterwards.
Liverpool will pay the Italian club somewhere in the region of £7.8million (10million euros), Press Association Sport understands.
That is only just slightly more than the Serie A side spent on the Italy international in loan fees and then a staggered purchase plan over the last six months.
Borini will be reunited with Rodgers, with whom he worked in the Chelsea youth set up, for a second time having spent a short spell on loan at Swansea in the 2010/11 season.
The Northern Irishman obviously highly rates the young forward, who scored six goals in nine matches of the Swans' promotion-winning campaign and he won the penalty in the Wembley play-off final which secured a 4-2 lead and victory over Reading.
At a press conference on Monday the Reds boss promised an exciting signing by the end of the week and while many fans would have been hoping for a bigger name Borini fits the profile of player Rodgers is keen to bring in to work within a more fluid team framework.
Borini only moved back to his homeland last summer as, when his contract at Stamford Bridge expired, he joined Parma who paid a small fee in compensation.
He was immediately loaned out to Roma where he scored nine times in 24 matches and, after they bought half of his rights in January, the Serie A club secured full ownership, at a total cost of around £6million, last month.
Borini's form earned him a place in Italy's Euro 2012 squad but he remained on the bench throughout his country's run to the final, where they were beaten by Spain.
Rodgers will be hoping the youngster will bring greater movement and ultimately more goals to a forward line which struggled last season.
Liverpool's record of 47 goals in 38 Premier League matches was worse than relegated Blackburn and was one of the main reasons why they finished eighth.
Dirk Kuyt's sale to Fenerbahce left Rodgers with only three strikers but the futures of Craig Bellamy, who turned 33 today, and Andy Carroll remain open to debate.
Bellamy has only a year left on his contract and is attracting interest from hometown club Cardiff as well as QPR - whose manager Mark Hughes has twice previously signed the Welshman.
Rodgers may see this as an opportunity to freshen up his attacking options further but the case of £35million club record signing Carroll is slightly different.
Many critics do not see him fitting into Rodgers' preferred 4-3-3 system or being suited to a possession game built on high-energy movement.
He has been linked with AC Milan, West Ham and Fulham and earlier this week the manager could not guarantee his future, even suggesting the England international could go out on loan.
Ironically, towards the end of last season - and briefly at the Euro 2012 - Carroll displayed arguably his best form since moving to Anfield in January 2011 as a transfer deadline-day replacement for Fernando Torres.
PA
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