There are several reports in todays papers which suggest that Liverpool may be ready to make a move for Valencia’s Spanish defender Raul Albiol if Daniel Agger refuses to sign a new contract. Firstly; I am a big fan of Agger and I hope that he signs a new contract and stays with us for a couple more seasons. But it is clear to see Agger’s frustrations as to why he does not want to sign a new contract. Agger is clearly behind Carragher and Skrtel in the pecking order according to Rafa. And Agger does not seem to want to spend time on the bench and instead wants to be a starting regular. Centre back is one of those positions where the coach really does not like to rotate that much. You need to have stability and consistancy there so the two defenders get to know each other and clearly Rafa thinks Carra and Skrtel are his best two.
Agger is a class defender and I see him and Skrtel as the future centre backs for Liverpool for many years to come. As much as we may love Carragher, I think he does not have that many seasons to go. He has been a great servant to the club but age is going to catch up to him eventually and we need to have someone ready to take over. If Agger is willing to wait then he should but I doubt he will want to. He wants to start playing now!
So if Agger decides to leave then we may make a move for Albiol. Now Albiol is another class defender but will he be willing to play second fiddle to Carra and Skrtel? A player of his quality deserves to start regularly. I certainly would not mind seeing Raul Albiol moving to Liverpool.
I guess at the end of the day; if Rafa is confident enough to give 3 centre backs equal opportunities and all 3 can comfortably play and rotate with each other then there should not be a problem. All 3 defenders; whether it is Carra, Skrtel and Agger / Albiol should understand this. And if they do then we have no problem.
Who would you rather have at Liverpool: Albiol or Agger?
