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Luis Alberto: Liverpool sign Sevilla's Spain Under-21 forward

By Phil McNultyChief football writer

Last updated on .From the section Footballcomments1032

Luis Alberto

Liverpool have signed Sevilla forward Luis Alberto on a long-term deal for a fee believed to be £6.8m.

The 20-year-old had been on loan at Barcelona B but the Spanish champions decided against taking up their option on the Spain Under-21 international, allowing Liverpool to step in.

Reds boss Brendan Rodgers said: "He has the correct footballing profile and mentality to be a Liverpool player.

"I look forward to working with him to develop his talent."

Alberto made his debut for Sevilla aged 18 in April 2011, but that was one of just seven first-team appearances he made for the club.

The former under-18 and under-19 international played 38 times for Barcelona B last season, scoring 11 goals.

He is set to be joined at Anfield by Simon Mignolet, with Liverpool expected to complete a £9m move for the Sunderland goalkeeper next week.

The Belgium international is expected on Merseyside in the next few days to undergo a medical and complete the formalities of the move.

The Anfield club have already signed Kolo Toure from Manchester City on a free transfer and have a £6.7m deal agreed in principle for Celta Vigo's Iago Aspas which will go through once paperwork has been completed.

Rodgers is also progressing with a move to sign Shakhtar Donetsk's Armenia midfielder Henrikh Mkhitaryan but there may not be a swift resolution to that transfer with Liverpool facing competition from a number of European clubs.

The 24-year-old has a release clause in his contract, believed to be around £20m, and Liverpool are willing to meet it in an attempt to sign one of European football's most coveted emerging players.

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1032 comments

  • Comment posted by Drasticus Maximus, at 11:44 22 Jun 2013

    So we have an actual article about a Liverpool signing and all the YNWA trolls are nowhere to be seen. Lets hope it stays that way so we can get some comments from some genuine Liverpool fans.

  • Comment posted by giveme a job, at 11:44 22 Jun 2013

    Rodgers is doing the necessary job of bolstering the squad within the limits of his budget, and if Reina and Saurez are sold, he will have plenty more money to spend. If we manage to keep these two, the squad now looks quite impressive, and a challenge for a champions league place looks possible.Best to judge him as a manager after a full 3 seasons in charge, when his own team will be established.

  • Comment posted by Hendos Hair Do, at 11:37 22 Jun 2013

    Lots of dismissive comments already, no doubt aimed at the shirt he'll be wearing as oppose to any greater knowledge of his strengths and weaknesses as a footballer.

    Statement of intent from Liverpool this transfer window. Early business for once.

  • Comment posted by terryEC, at 11:43 22 Jun 2013

    Don't know anything about this lad but I didn't know anything about Coutinho and he was a pleasant surprise, to the person who slagged Borini, all I can say is he is a young lad who has great positional sense and will be a very very good player in the future.
    I do hope Rodgers has realised that it is his defence that lets him down and Toure is a gamble, we need a really top class centre back.

  • Comment posted by jbayf, at 11:37 22 Jun 2013

    The comments already look exactly as they did when liverpool signed coutinho, any onlookers take them with a pinch of salt, very few of the 500+ odd comments to follow will have seen him play other than a youtube video - I certainly haven't - lets just wait and see.

  • Comment posted by U15573269, at 11:42 22 Jun 2013

    Had we paid 20+m for a well known player who then didn't score in his first few matches, everyone would be on Rodgers back for it. As it is for less than 7m we have bought a relative unknown, I'm excited to see what he can do. To all the people criticising this transfer, maybe just maybe, Brendan Rodgers knows more about football than you? Just a thought.

  • Comment posted by U14320784, at 13:24 22 Jun 2013

    Looks like LFC are trying to do an Arsenal of yesteryear, only this time with Spanish players, who are no doubt currently the best crop of youngsters out there. LFC can't attract the top,top players currently as they all want millions of £££££'s a week and CL football.
    As a CFC fan I'm watching with caution, BR knows his stuff. If given time he could turn LFC all 80's again

  • Comment posted by U15745549, at 13:24 22 Jun 2013

    Why are you all so negative towards the player..it seems to me that you are venting your negativity because he will be wearing a LFC shirt...and not about his footballing ability...more like hateing LFC then the players ability..I am sure if messi donned a LFC shirt u all would hate him too.

    Well done LFC I must say with there transfer activity so far and so early too.

  • Comment posted by U15550253, at 12:05 22 Jun 2013

    May i remind everyone that coutinho was an inter milan "reject" and look what a player he is

  • Comment posted by Sportsmad19, at 11:50 22 Jun 2013

    This is a bit of a risk considering he never made it at Sevilla but maybe his game will be much more suited to the Premier League anyway. As with many foreign players who come over, I have never seen them play properly so they are an unknown quantity outside their domestic league and country. Everyone should be given a chance and he does have youth on his side. Not marquee but one for the future.

  • Comment posted by U5284551, at 13:52 22 Jun 2013

    As a Man United fan i can honestly say i think Rodgers is doing a great job and i am looking forward to watching Liverpool next season. They are playing attractive football and surely it can only be more entertaining if Liverpool are challenging the other teams at the top of the table.

  • Comment posted by U15723906, at 12:42 22 Jun 2013

    I see quite a number of supporters saying we need to sort out our defence , while I agree , people seem to be forgetting that the window only opens on the 1st of July.. As for a lot of opposing fans who claim that Aspas and Alberto wont manage much or will only be squad players , I am honestly amazed how much you guys know of a club you don't even support..I honestly don't know much about ur clubs

  • Comment posted by Andy, at 13:33 22 Jun 2013

    @126. Why does the fact you've never heard of him mean he's NOT quality? I've heard of Titus Bramble but I wouldn't want my team to sign him. Michu? Had you heard of him before last season? Shevchenko at Chelsea was a blinding success wasn't he!!! Stop talking guff and base your opinions on when you see him perform not on the fact that you haven't stumbled across him on Football Manager 2013 yet.

  • Comment posted by Phil, at 13:16 22 Jun 2013

    To be fair, its harder for Liverpool to sign quality players as they can't provide any form of European football at present. The best players want European football and will only go to the clubs that can offer it.

  • Comment posted by More Like It, at 13:02 22 Jun 2013

    @99
    anyone who thinks Suarez "completely carried" Liverpool clearly doesn't know a lot about the subject.
    Was it how he completely carried LFC to the 6-0 win at St James - from the stands, serving a suspension?

  • Comment posted by TheUEFA_BlueBadgesElite, at 13:47 22 Jun 2013

    161.Horrace123

    Very funny!...you complete tube.

  • Comment posted by U12376444, at 13:28 22 Jun 2013

    @126. Chubby1

    just because you havn't heard of him doesn't mean jack sh**

    had you heard of Michu or Coutinho?? how much did you know about Suarez before Liverpool signed him? what about Hernandez before signing for Man utd?? or Oscar before moving to Chelsea?

    We havn't got millions to spend so have to find diamonds in the rough

    so you have never heard of him, well my answer to you is, So what

  • Comment posted by phil098, at 11:53 22 Jun 2013

    The comments on here are laughable!!! These days if a club doesn't sign a world famous player for tens of millions of pounds then people just complain and write stupid comments like 'Liverpool are bottom half team' lol.
    All the best have to start somewhere and why the hell do you think these clubs have a scouting team?? You want them to just read the back pages!

  • Comment posted by wedontcarrybottles, at 18:28 23 Jun 2013

    839 Dave

    Don't expect you to understand this as I know you are one dimensional in your general outlook.

    Certain clubs have a romantic allure that attracts certain types of supporters, Juventus, Ajax are a couple I could think of. Liverpool is in that bracket.

    Man U are like the Macdonalds of this world. A Corporate monster catering for mass uneducated and generic sports folllowers.

  • Comment posted by U14735043, at 14:22 22 Jun 2013

    i dont think there is too much wrong with lfc, last season we had the highest amount of shots on target in the whole of europe, now we just need players who actually put the ball in the net, when u look at the most successful teams in the prem they have players who weigh-in with goals from all over the park, if we can solve this all the teams that finished above us should sit up and take notice.

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