Madrid Confirm Agger Interest

Reports have emerged over the last few days that los Merengues are looking to increase the depth of their defence as they seek to retain their La Liga title and reclaim their Champions League crown.

On the surface, the Bernabeu has no dearth of options at the back; Fabio Cannavaro, Christoph Metzelder, Ezequiel Garay, Sergio Ramos and Pepe are all highly regarded defenders.

But Metzelder has struggled to settle in Madrid, Pepe has suffered series of injuries and Ramos is preferred at right-back. Combine that with Cannavaro's advancing years and Garay's relative lack of experience, and the need for reinforcement becomes apparent.

Werder Bremen's Per Mertesacker was mentioned as a potential target in the Spanish press this week, but Agger is the clear favourite to fill the void in Bernd Schuster's squad.

Rift

The Danish international is one of the most promising defenders in Europe, and yet he has struggled to get on the pitch this season with Liverpool.

After making his mark during the previous campaign, the 23-year-old missed almost the entire 2007-08 season due to a metatarsal problem. He has since returned to fitness but has failed to dislodge Martin Skrtel, the Slovakian star who has become a Kop favourite since arriving from Zenit St. Petersburg in January.

Rumours have arisen of an ever-widening rift between Agger and Rafael Benitez, although the manager has fervently denied such claims and insisted that the club are hoping to extend the player's contract.

The Merseyside giants will have to act fast, however, as los Blancos confirmed yesterday that their sights have been set on the former Brondby man for quite some time.

Top of the List

Real vice-president Jose Angel Sanchez said in The Sun: “Agger’s a player we have been looking at for a long time and it’s likely we will bid for him in January.

“He’s a world-class player and would fit into our system without a doubt. We need a defender and a striker — and Agger tops our list.”

It turns out that Madrid had initially planned to purchase Agger during the summer, along with Manchester United superstar Cristiano Ronaldo.

However, the tedious saga surrounding Ronaldo and the complicated nature of Robinho's deadline-day departure for Manchester City meant no deal was reached with either of England's North-West giants.

“We already had plans about buying Agger this summer, along with some other players,” Sanchez continued.

“But the Robinho situation took so much attention and demanded so many resources from the club that we had to drop the plans for putting in a bid for him and the others we had in mind.”

Liverpool will be highly reluctant to sell given Sami Hyypia, the ageing Finn who was omitted from the Champions League roster, is realistically their only remaining option in central defence.

Mike Maguire