Liverpool enter race for Cliftonville's Rory Donnelly

[dee]

Liverpool are reported to be the latest club to enter the race to sign Cliftonville striker Rory Donnelly.

The Belfast Telegraph said that Cliftonville chairman Gerard Lawlor was contacted by Liverpool manager Kenny Dalglish about Donnelly on Sunday. The club have accepted an offer of around £100,000 from Swansea for the 19-year-old while Donnelly has also been linked with Everton.

Cliftonville want Donnelly's future to be sorted out before Christmas. A Cliftonville statement said on Sunday that they will not be entering into any new dialogue with interested parties after next Friday.

"Cliftonville this week announced the acceptance of a transfer offer from Swansea City FC for striker Rory Donnelly, who has scored 17 goals for the Reds this season," the club stated. "The club are also aware of interest in the player from a number of other sources and has responded to a series of tentative enquiries in recent weeks.We are, however, keen to bring the issue to a conclusion as soon as possible."

Cliftonville chairman Lawlor spoke of his surprise at being phoned by Dalglish on Sunday.

"It's not every day you get Kenny Dalglish ringing you and asking how the Reds got on at the weekend," Lawlor told the Belfast Telegraph. "He made it clear that Liverpool want to sign him and that they would be back in touch."

The player's agent is expected to hold talks with representatives from Everton and Swansea.

 

[Mystic]

I'm bursting with indifference.

 

[refugee]

He looks very industrial to me....

 

[Athens]

They would need to enroll him at the Lucas Leiva School of Improvement if he is to make it in the EPL.

 

[irishred]

Would you not pay £100,000 to piss off Everton?!

 

[King Binny]

Lol @ irishred.

That said, the likes of Kevin Doyle and Shane Long were from clubs like St Patrick and Cork City too. At the figure quoted, its a worthy risk.

 

[Asbo]

Lets hope he does better than our last player from them.

William Hood



Birthdate: 03.11.1914
Birthplace: Belfast Northern Ireland
Other clubs: Cliftonville, Derry City
Bought from: Cliftonville
Signed for LFC: N/A March 1937


Liverpool debut: 20.11.1937
Last appearance: 04.12.1937
Contract expiry: 1938
LFC league games/goals: 3 / 0
Total LFC games/goals: 3 / 0

 

[Ossi]

Cliftonville plays in what division?

 

[HC]

[quote author=Binny link=topic=47983.msg1446836#msg1446836 date=1324299708]
Lol @ irishred.

That said, the likes of Kevin Doyle and Shane Long were from clubs like St Patrick and Cork City too. At the figure quoted, its a worthy risk.
[/quote]
Are you suggesting that shane long and or Kevin doyle are good enough for this club?

 

[King Binny]

[quote author=Hardcastle link=topic=47983.msg1447155#msg1447155 date=1324318528]
[quote author=Binny link=topic=47983.msg1446836#msg1446836 date=1324299708]
Lol @ irishred.

That said, the likes of Kevin Doyle and Shane Long were from clubs like St Patrick and Cork City too. At the figure quoted, its a worthy risk.
[/quote]
Are you suggesting that shane long and or Kevin doyle are good enough for this club?
[/quote]

Good enough for the Premier League in general. Both managed to fetch Reading £6.5m each. Having signed the likes of Vitor Flora at the age of 18, surely this lad at 19 isn't that bad a risk. 🙂 That said, he'll probably go to Swansea or Everton.

 

[Jack D Rips]

[quote author=Asbo link=topic=47983.msg1446863#msg1446863 date=1324300961]
Lets hope he does better than our last player from them.

William Hood



Birthdate: 03.11.1914
Birthplace: Belfast Northern Ireland
Other clubs: Cliftonville, Derry City
Bought from: Cliftonville
Signed for LFC: N/A March 1937


Liverpool debut: 20.11.1937
Last appearance: 04.12.1937
Contract expiry: 1938
LFC league games/goals: 3 / 0
Total LFC games/goals: 3 / 0
[/quote]

how many assists did he have though Asbo?

 

[King Binny]

[quote author=Ossi link=topic=47983.msg1447149#msg1447149 date=1324318275]
Cliftonville plays in what division?
[/quote]

Northern Ireland Premiership. 3rd with 44 pts, 7 behind leaders Linfield.

P21 W14 D2 L5 F51 A35

 

[Cerberus]

[quote author=Hardcastle link=topic=47983.msg1447155#msg1447155 date=1324318528]
[quote author=Binny link=topic=47983.msg1446836#msg1446836 date=1324299708]
Lol @ irishred.

That said, the likes of Kevin Doyle and Shane Long were from clubs like St Patrick and Cork City too. At the figure quoted, its a worthy risk.
[/quote]
Are you suggesting that shane long and or Kevin doyle are good enough for this club?
[/quote]

Kevin Doyle or Shane Long would score way more goals for us than the 35 million donkey currently warming our bench.

 

[OLD_Lewy]

might aswell spend 100 grand on someone thatl certainly be better than big andy. might turn into a prospect

 

[Athens]

Would this shot beat an EPL keeper? I reckon it would, don't know how often he does it though.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ih09AzzHlrc

 

[Dirty Sanchez]

Of course. But the real question is how many times has he attempted that type of shot and totally shat the bed?
Consistency is not something that YouTube videos tend to accurately convery I'm afraid.

 

[doctor_mac]

I prefer it via West Belfast "spide-cam" complete with the magical patter of Belfast....

*dabs tears from eyes*

rory donnelly cracker

 

[Hansern]

I like your version Doc. So, can this kid play then?

According to Ben Smith we're close to signing him.

 

[McNulty]

He looks like the sort of fella you'd find sniffing a bag of clue around Castle Street.

;D

 

[Markeh]

[quote author=McNulty link=topic=47983.msg1447485#msg1447485 date=1324341690]
He looks like the sort of fella you'd find sniffing a bag of clue around Castle Street.

;D
[/quote]

haha I'm glad someone said it

 

[Ryan]

Word for word what a temmate of Donnelly's just said to me in a facebook msg:

"he's a brilliant finisher, as good as I've seen ryno but this is a shock to everyone that the pool are after him. The only thing he can do really well is finish chances, hes not that good in build up play but put a chance in front of him and hell bury it. hes better than you anyway!"

Cheeky cunt.

Also - can you imagine how excited this lad and all his spidetastic mates are gonna be at the thought of all these free tracksuits?

 

[SaintGeorge67]

ryno?

 

[Ryan]

Brilliantly original isn't it?

 

[gene hughes]

It's better than Ryan.

 

[Markeh]

he looks like a united fan

 

[Ryan]

[quote author=gene hughes link=topic=47983.msg1447501#msg1447501 date=1324347334]
It's better than Ryan.
[/quote]

Thanks Edward.

 

[Hansern]

He certainly looks like a good finisher in the clips Ive seen.

This is probably one of the lowest risk transfers we can do, 100 k is less than what Gerrard earns in a week. If he turns out good then great, if not we'll sell him on and cover both wages and transfer fee.

 

[King Binny]

Cliftonville striker Rory Donnelly is expected to have talks with Liverpool manager Kenny Dalglish on Tuesday about a possible move to the Anfield giants.

Dalglish contacted the the Irish League club on Sunday to register his interest in the prolific 19-year-old.

Cliftonville have accepted an offer of around £100,000 from Swansea for Donnelly while the player has also been linked with Everton.

The Belfast club want Donnelly's future to be sorted out before Christmas.

Donnelly has already met with Swansea boss Brendan Rodgers and Everton manager David Moyes.

Rodgers said on Monday that he was confident of signing the Northern Ireland Under-21 international.

The forward has scored 17 goals this season, several of them spectacular, leading to interest from several clubs.

Everton and Brentford were among prominent suitors before Swansea put in a firm bid last week.

A Cliftonville statement said on Sunday that they would not be entering into any new dialogue with interested parties after Friday.

"Cliftonville this week announced the acceptance of a transfer offer from Swansea City FC for striker Rory Donnelly," the club stated.

"The club are also aware of interest in the player from a number of other sources and has responded to a series of tentative enquiries in recent weeks.

"We are, however, keen to bring the issue to a conclusion as soon as possible."

Lawlor told the BBC that he wanted "the best deal for club but ultimately it's about the player and what is best for Rory at this stage in his young career".

The Cliftonville chairman acknowledged that the transfer speculation is in danger of becoming a distraction to the team and manager Tommy Breslin.

 

[King Binny]

RORY Donnelly has all the attributes to make a mark in the Premier League, according to the man who helped bring him through at Cliftonville.

Tommy Breslin is manager of the Northern Ireland Premiership side, who have accepted an offer totalling around £100,000 for the striker.

Reports yesterday suggested Everton had also made a successful bid and that the 19-year-old's agent is set to speak to both clubs before the weekend.

Breslin was assistant boss at Clifftonville for five and a half years before taking charge last May. He has watched Donnelly strike 17 goals this season to send his side second in the table.

That form has attracted a glut of interest from English clubs and Breslin has backed his player to reach the very top.

"I know it's a massive step up, but I would like to think he can make it in the Premier League," said Breslin. "He's going to be playing with better players and that will help him.

"He's coming from part-time football to the Premier League, but he has massive potential. Now it's a question of whether he can realise it, whether the coaches can bring that out of him.

"He's come on leaps and bounds this year, but there's not a lot of him. We don't do weights or anything like that so I think full-time training will help him immensely."

BRENDAN Rodgers hopes Rory Donnelly will be “clever enough” to realise that Swansea City are the club for him after the striker arrived for talks over a move to the Liberty.

Donnelly flew into Wales yesterday to meet Rodgers after Swansea agreed a fee for the Cliftonville starlet last week.

And despite firm interest from Liverpool in the 19-year-old, Rodgers is optimistic that his fellow Northern Irishman will seal a move to Swansea this week.

“I know what’s on offer at this club,” said the Swansea manager.

“And if Rory is clever enough, he will look at our squad and see that there are two young, homegrown players who have come through and are playing in the Premier League.

“He will also see that there are lots of other young players at this club as well as some top senior professionals who can help the younger players through.

“He will see a wonderful city which will be very much like home for him, and a club with a manager and a group of people who can really aid his career.

“If he doesn’t see it that way then good luck to him in whatever he does and we will move on.”

Swansea have agreed to pay Cliftonville in the region of £100,000 for Donnelly, who has scored 17 goals already this season.

A host of other clubs have shown an interest in the talented frontman, and matching Swansea’s offer will not be an issue for Liverpool.

Rodgers must hope that his record of developing young players, plus the fact that Donnelly has a more realistic chance of reaching the first team at Swansea than he would at Anfield, will influence the player’s decision on where to go.

“He will be here for a couple of days and hopefully we can tie things up and get this sorted,” Rodgers added.

“I can only ever sell the package that we have here, and that is a great package for a youth player or a senior player.

“Knowing Rory’s background and the start he has had, I know this would be a brilliant place for him and I am sure in the next couple of days he will recognise that.

“There’s no doubt there’s a lot of interest in him, but I am quite relaxed about the situation.

“All we can do is sell our vision to him and show him that this is the place where he can develop.”

Cliftonville chairman Gerard Lawlor has revealed that Liverpool have made contact over Donnelly.

“It’s not every day you get Kenny Dalglish ringing you and asking you how the Reds (Cliftonville) got on at the weekend,” he said.

“He made it clear that Liverpool want to sign him and that they would be back in touch.”

Everton, who Swansea face tomorrow, have also been mentioned as admirers of Donnelly.

Cliftonville say they want the player’s future sorted before Christmas.

 

[ILD]

I've decided I want us to sign him now. 100k is peanuts. Mario Balotelli will prob bid for him too and give him a job changing the TV channel for him.