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Posts Tagged ‘dutch’

• Kuyt in discussions to extend deal beyond 2012
• ‘I feel at home in Liverpool and don’t want to leave’

Dirk Kuyt has revealed that talks over extending his Liverpool contract are progressing well.

Having undergone a change of ownership and management during a turbulent campaign, the Merseyside club appear to be moving in the right direction again under their new manager, Kenny Dalglish, who was appointed Roy Hodgson’s successor on a temporary basis in January.

Kuyt has already spoken of his desire to see Dalglish keep the job beyond the end of the season, and the Dutch forward is also keen to stay on at Liverpool.

“My contract has one more season to go after this but there are things happening,” Kuyt said. “We have had some talks and I can only say it looks positive. I feel at home in Liverpool and I don’t want to leave here.

“It has been a difficult time for everyone at the club with the changes that have happened since last summer but now I can sense something good is happening – I think Liverpool are on the way back.”

Liverpoolguardian.co.uk

• Dutch winger frustrated by lack of regular first-team football
• ‘It is not up to me whether I see my future here’

Ryan Babel has refused to rule out a January departure from Liverpool, saying his future is in the hands of the club.

The Dutch winger was an £11.25m signing from Ajax in 2007 but has started only 31 Premier League games in over three years with the club. That patchy playing record saw the 23-year-old offered to Sunderland last January and it seems the Anfield exit door could be open for Babel again next month.

“It doesn’t annoy me that I always get asked about my future,” he said. “It is not up to me whether I see my future here, it is up to Liverpool. This is my fourth season so it is up to them what they do.

“I have one more year at the end of the season on my contract. I would like to stay. It has been frustrating here as a player, but it has not changed my loyalty to the club. It is more to the manager. The club is fantastic. But if a manager does not like you it is between you and the manager. The club is amazing and there are still a lot of fans who believe in me so that gives me a goal.”

The Dutch winger, though, does seem to be enjoying life more under Roy Hodgson than under his predeccessor Rafael Benítez. “They are different,” he said. “He [Hodgson] does things differently, and maybe that suits me better. When he arrived he was closer with the team, talking to players, maybe that gives the players a boost to respond better. He is more involved day to day with the players. He does things differently. Under Rafa the assistant managers took a lot of responsibility but that is different now.

“I hope this country has not seen the best of me yet. The maximum games I have played in a row is four and it is difficult for every player to find that consistency if you are not playing every week.”

Liverpoolguardian.co.uk

• Liverpool striker desperate to play against first club
• Kuyt injured shoulder attempting overhead kick in training

Dirk Kuyt has not given up hope of making an emotional return to Utrecht later this month despite being ruled out for four weeks with a shoulder injury.

The Liverpool striker is expected to be absent until Blackpool visit Anfield on 3 October after scans revealed the extent of the injury he suffered in training with Holland on Monday. “Dirk has damaged his shoulder at the A-C joint, which is between the collar bone and the shoulder,” said Dr Peter Brukner, Liverpool’s Head of Sports Medicine and Sports Science. “He is likely to be out for four weeks.”

Kuyt’s injury is a serious setback for manager Roy Hodgson, who is scheduled to lose the Dutch international for Premier League games against Birmingham City, Sunderland and Manchester United, a Carling Cup tie with Northampton Town plus Europa League group matches against Steaua Bucharest and Utrecht. Hodgson is short of options in right midfield, where Kuyt usually operates, and also lacks cover for Fernando Torres after Liverpool failed to sign a much-needed striker before the recent transfer deadline.

The 30-year-old started his professional career with Utrecht, where he made 160 appearances and won the only trophy of his career so far – the 2003 Dutch Cup, and is understandably desperate to return when Liverpool travel to Holland on 30 September.

Kuyt, who is believed to have sustained the injury while attempting a bicycle kick, said: “I hope I will make it [for Utrecht] but it all depends on how the injury heals in the first few days. I knew I’d put something out and I pushed it back, but afterwards I was in a lot of pain so I went to the hospital where they found I had torn muscles. I have made a thousand of these moves without any problems. It is very frustrating.”

Hodgson now has only David Ngog, who has impressed in the early weeks of the season, Ryan Babel, who was offered in exchange for West Ham United’s striker Carlton Cole on transfer deadline day, and 19-year-old Daniel Pacheco to ease the burden on Torres during Kuyt’s absence. Joe Cole, however, will be available following Liverpool’s trip to Birmingham on Sunday when he completes a three-match suspension for his dismissal against Arsenal on the opening day of the season.

LiverpoolUtrechtHollandEuropa LeagueAndy Hunterguardian.co.uk