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Dane Agger set for Liverpool deal
Benitez has added Danish defender Agger to his shopping basket LIVERPOOL, England -- Liverpool manager Rafa Benitez is poised to further boost his defensive ranks in the transfer window with the capture of Denmark international Danny Agger. Dutchman Jan Kromkamp has signed from Villareal and reports say Liverpool have now agreed a fee of around 5.8 million pounds ($10.5m) with Danish club Brondby for Agger. The 21-year-old was a long time target for Benitez and is also thought to have interested Juventus, Bayern Munich and Premiership rivals Tottenham. Denmark head coach Morten Olsen believes Agger has the talent and temperament to succeed in the Premiership. "He is confident about what he can do at the moment - he still has something to learn and he has a good mentality and if he goes to Liverpool I can only say they will have a top-class player," Olsen told Sky Sports. "He certainly has to play 25 games because only in that way will he become a better player, and he is only 21 so he is not a player for the bench. "Of course he has got to accept he maybe cannot play in the first team in every game but I am sure he will show that he is a top-class player." The Liverpool manager tried to sign center-back Agger last summer as cover for Jamie Carragher and Sami Hyypia. Agger is fit again after recovering from damaging knee ligaments during a training session at Brondby in September. That halted his rapid progress with club and country, where he made an immediate impression during the World Cup qualifiers. Okocha offBolton's Nigeria skipper Austin Jay-Jay Okocha has signed a lucrative 18-month contract with two-time Asian champions Al-Ittihad, a source at the Saudi club said on Wednesday. Okocha was signed by the Jeddah-based club for 5.1 million euros to replace Brazilian midfielder Tcheco, the source said. The 32-year-old 1996 Olympic gold medalist is due in Egypt this month to play for Nigeria in the African Nations Cup. He has largely played second fiddle to Japan's Hidetoshi Nakata at the heart of Bolton's midfield this season in the English Premiership and has openly admitted that he has been left frustrated watching from the sidelines. Ugo must stayUgo Ehiogu's future at Middlesbrough is muddled after a transfer to Premiership rivals West Brom collapsed following an ankle injury to Gareth Southgate. Ehiogu, 33, had passed a medical at The Hawthorns -- according to his agent Steve Kutner- - but it is understood Boro have now blocked the deal. Kutner claimed Ehiogu was still determined to join West Brom but the center-back could be required at the Riverside after the loss of captain Southgate for up to three months with a suspected stress fracture of an ankle. "He does not want to go back to Middlesbrough, despite what might have happened," Kutner told Sky Sports. "In his head, he is a West Brom player and was gearing up to play for them this weekend. "He has accepted the fact he was leaving Middlesbrough, and that would be very difficult for him to change now." Southgate, 35, picked up his injury during the FA Cup third-round tie with Nuneaton on Saturday. His absence comes on the back of lengthy lay-offs for George Boateng and Franck Queudrue who have been told they are out for up to eight weeks with ankle and knee problems respectively. Boro face Stuttgart in the last 32 of the UEFA Cup on February 16 and 23.
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