Liverpool winger Yossi Benayoun has been touted to leave to a lot of clubs in recent weeks. Tottenham, Sevilla, Chelsea have all been rumoured to be in the market for the Israeli international while the latest has seen him being involved in a swap deal with West Ham for Valon Behrami and Matthew Upson. Considering Yossi has been one of Liverpool’s most consistent performers over the last season, outshining many brighter stars who have failed to perform this season, why has there been such a torrent of rumours that he will be moving on?
No doubt Yossi and his agent have not helped matters in recent weeks by stating uncertainties about the player’s future at Anfield, and such talk will always make you the subject of speculation in the world of newspapers and the internet. Benayoun has stated:
“We don’t know what changes there will be (in the) players, the staff so I think it’s too early to speak. I don’t know personally even if I will be here or I will not be here.A lot of things can happen, so we have to wait and see. Liverpool is a great club and I enjoy it but a lot of things are happening in this moment. If it depended on me, I would stay here and retire in Liverpool. The fans are the best in the world but it depends on a lot of things. It will be very clear soon.”
To be fair to Benayoun he has always stated that he has a desire to stay at Liverpool, but he obviously has some reservations if he is mentioning his future at all. Probably one of the most frustrating things for the Israeli is his inability to establish himself as an automatic first choice. He never seems to get a great number of matches in a row before he is either relegated to the substitute’s bench or gets injured. In the early part of the season, he was surely Liverpool’s best outfield player but as the campaign wore on injury and form meant a starting eleven place became less common place.
In January, rumours were abound about a move to Russia with both Lokomotiv and Dinamo Moscow apparently in the running for his signature. The question obviously becomes as two why one of our most creative players would be allowed to leave for a club in Russia in the middle of the season. I was certainly perplexed at the time but perhaps there were a few explanations that could shed some light on the affair.
Regular first team football could definitely be an issue as mentioned above and there have been questions asked about the personal relationship between Benitez and Benayoun because of this seemingly lack of faith in the Israeli’s abilities to play for the team week in, week out. Then there is the age issue, at 30 Benayoun is not getting any younger and with Liverpool’s finances as they are, Benitez may feel it is time to offload the player at his maximum price before he begins to go down hill.
A related issue to finances is the re-emergence of Ryan Babel. Babel was all set to leave Anfield in January but after clear the air talks with Benitez, he began to get more regular starts and some no doubt came at the expense of Benayoun in the last few months of the season. The Israeli could certainly justify his annoyance about this if you compare his form to the Dutch forwards, and as the Reds will need to sell this summer, they will have to either sell Babel or Benayoun to boost funds as Liverpool look to rebuild their squad.
In this regard, the arrival of Maxi Rodriguez back in January also could be seen as a kick in the teeth for Benayoun for there is even more competition for places on the wings and no doubt some wingers will have to be sold this summer. Can you blame Benayoun to be concerned about his future? In my opinion, it would be a shame if Benayoun left but this summer of all summers, Reds fans have to be realistic, and if somebody offered £9-10m for his services, and considering his age at 30, I might just have to take it so it can be used to purchase that much needed striker. A summer of tough decisions lie ahead, and none more so than with Yossi Benayoun.
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Yossi has been good for us in the last 18 months, but age, potential transfer fee, plus new homegrown regulations and hopefully the emergence of pacheco could lead to his departure, there is of course also the joe cole rumour doing the rounds although that has gone quiet recently
Play him forchristsakes, and play him in the hole behind Torres, it’s so obvious that he should’ve been given a chance to do this, I can’t understand why it’s not been tried