Hleb & Flamini: Rafa Targets Ex-Gunners to Replace Midfield Duo & Lead Liverpool Title Charge

Alexander Hleb’s agent earlier this week declared the player was happy at Barcelona despite a disappointing first season with the Spanish champions. However, reports in Spain as well as the player himself suggest the Belarusian star will be on the move with Liverpool leading the chase. The player’s agent Uli Ferber told Sport, “We have four or five offers from England and Germany.”

“The club knows this but technical secretary (Txiki Beguiristain) has told me that Aliaksandr has a guaranteed place in the squad and that is decided by the coach.

“Hleb is happy at Barcelona.”

However, Hleb himself contradicted this when he told Sport Express, “For now I’m still a Barca player.”

“I’ll try my best but if my situation doesn’t improve then I will have to find another club.”

A lot may depend of Barca’s pursuit of Javier Mascherano with a move for the Argentine likely to include Hleb as a makeweight as part of the deal. This would also mean that Rafa steps up his chase for AC Milan midfield man and another former Gunner Mathieu Flamini who has grown disgruntled at his utility man role at the San Siro.

Alexander Hleb: Belarusian Wizard

The 28-year-old started just 8 League games from his 19 appearances and failed to score for the club. He has previously spoken encouragingly about leaving the Nou Camp which alerted a number of clubs in both England and Germany who are more than aware of his talent. He told German newspaper Bild towards the end of the 2008/09 season, “I am right in the best years of my career and I do not want to spend those years on bench”.

A player with the proven ability to impress in English football would be an excellent acquisition for Liverpool who’ve perhaps lacked the cutting edge the quick-footed midfielder can readily provide. His versatility should also appeal as Hleb can play on either wing, through the centre or off the forward in the ‘hole’.

The Minsk born star made 89 League appearances in his 3 seasons with the Gunners scoring 7 goals before leaving for £11.8m in the summer. He is likely to be made available for far less if the Spanish giants can secure their reported targets. After all, he’s made little impact at the Camp Nou as Barca were in scintillating form winning a trio of major trophies. Hleb’s route into the Barcelona first team has been blocked by some of the best attacking players in the world in the shape of Andres Iniesta, Xavi, Thierry Henry and Lionel Messi, so unless there are injuries his position is likely to remain the same next season if he remains in Catalonia.

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German giants Bayern Munich have shown an interest in the player which is hardly unsurprising as Hleb was a star in 5 seasons in the Bundesliga with Stuttgart where he earned the nickname ‘Zauberlehrling’ or Wizard’s apprentice’ for his trickery.

He has won 48 caps for his country and earned the Belarusian Player of the Year title on 6 occasions. Despite playing for a number of big clubs Hleb’s only club honour prior to last season was the Belarusian Premier League title in 1999. He had been Bundesliga runner-up in 2003, Champions League runner-up in 2006 and League Cup runner-up in 2007. However, despite Barcelona’s trophy haul and his agent’s comments Hleb’s bit-part role at the Nou Camp is likely to come to an end.

Mathieu Flamini: French Midfield Dynamo

Reports in Italy claim that Liverpool have made tentative enquiries concerning the availability of AC Milan’s Mathieu Flamini.

The 25-year-old has spoken out this week regarding his future in Italy after being forced to play as a full-back for much of last season which has led to unrest from the Frenchman.

“I am a midfielder, I don’t want to play as a full-back,” declared Flamini on Sky Sport Italia.

Arsenal were reportedly offered cash plus their former player for Emmanuel Adebayor from AC Milan last week but the move looks to have fallen through with Man City’s cash offer enough to tempt Arsene Wenger. The club are thought to be not overly keen on bringing back a former player who left them for nothing only a season ago embarrassing the club in the process. Despite his history in the red of Arsenal, Harry Redknapp is reportedly interested in the all-action midfielder as the perfect man to partner Wilson Palacios in the centre of the park with his tenacity and energy allowing the flair and creativity of the likes of Luka Modric and Aaron Lennon to flourish. However, Liverpool would offer Flamini the same role currently filled by Javier Mascherano if the Argentine does leave Anfield with Barcelona continuing to pursue the Argentine.

Flamini didn’t enjoy the best of debut seasons as Milan failed to challenge rivals Inter for the Serie A title, they were also surprisingly knocked out in the Uefa Cup 3rd round by eventual finalists Werder Bremen. The Frenchman played in 29 league games last season but only starting 22 with a number of those appearances coming at full-back. He played a full 90 minutes in a Serie A match on only 16 occasions with most of those coming in defence. This has led to speculation regarding his future as new coach Leonardo is expected to bring in his own personnel.

The move to Milan was expected to secure Flamini’s position in the French national squad but instead he has only featured once since the move and that was back in September soon after his arrival in Italy. A move back to England may earn the player more opportunity to break back into the national set-up with a permanent midfield role and a number of Premier League stars in the French set-up.

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Flamini’s standing at Arsenal was very much as a bit-part player until his final season with the club. He made a total of 102 league appearances but until the 2007/08 season, he’s only started 37 games. However, in his final season he started all 30 of his league appearances as he established himself alongside Cesc Fabregas as the first choice central midfield pairing. He managed to displace the ever dependable Gilberto Silva in the side which was no mean feat. The French star finally got the consistent chance to prove his aggressive; all-action style was the perfect foil for enabling his Spanish partner to display his more offensive skills higher up the park. However, Flamini’s new found confidence and improved displays led to suitors across Europe as the player’s contract ran down.

Despite an offer of a new contract at Arsenal, Flamini decided to join Milan in the summer of 2008 in a deal worth a reported 5.6m euros a season over a 4-year contract. However, despite joining Milan to enhance his midfield reputation, Flamini soon found himself in a position similar to that at Arsenal. In terms of being regarded as a utility man at the club. However, injuries allowed the player to break back into the side at right-back but the Frenchman is determined that this won’t be the case again in 2009/10.

The fee for the player is likely to be £7.5m as he is not considered one of AC’s main assets as Leonardo looks to rebuild what is an ageing side with a likely influx of South Americans. This would provide Rafa Benitez with a massive profit in which to strengthen other areas of the team while bringing in the pair of former Gunners.

Would Liverpool fans welcomes the ex-Gunners to the club? Do you think a midfield pairing of Flamini and Hleb would weaken the Liverpool side? Let’s hear your views.

Tags: AC Milan, Alexander Hleb, Arsenal, Barcelona, Belarus, France, Liverpool, Mathieu Flamini

This entry was posted on Thursday, July 16th, 2009 at 13:23 and is filed under Features, Home Features, Transfer News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.