There has been mention – and a lot of you guys have been asking about - a possible nine million bid from Liverpool for Riera of Espanyol. I can certainly guarantee that no such a thing has happened.

Espanyol have not received an offer and Liverpool have not made one. Riera is, no doubt, a player that can easily adapt to Liverpool. For those of you who remember him at Manchester city, you’ll recall that the manager was Stuart Pierce: someone who didn’t have much time for creative players who did not track back.

Riera needs someone to be on top of him constantly, but he is good enough to play for any top four team in the Premier League, provided he can be relieved of his defensive duties.

The problem, at least at the moment, is that Espanyol are not selling anybody (having said that, they can’t stop Kameni form going because his buy out clause is just 6 million euros) and I have the impression that Liverpool are leaking stories about Riera, to hide other targets. As well as Gareth Barry (and the selling of Peter Crouch, Riise, Xabi Alonso and Scott Carson), Rafa is preparing a nice surprise for the fans.