• Tottenham-bound midfielder's wage demands too high
• 'Liverpool core is strong but one or two areas need improving'
Brendan Rodgers said he was relaxed over missing out on Gylfi Sigurdsson and believes the Liverpool squad he inherited from Kenny Dalglish does not require a major overhaul.
The Iceland international Sigurdsson joined Tottenham Hotspur on Wednesday after pulling out of a £6.8m move to Swansea City, and a reunion with Rodgers at Anfield because of the personal terms. The Liverpool manager has yet to make a signing since his arrival on 1 June, although he met the squad only this week. He revealed the Sigurdsson deal collapsed because he was not prepared to bow to the midfielder's wage demands, understood to be in excess of £40,000 per week.
Rodgers said: "I am quite relaxed. He did fantastic for me at Swansea last season. I brought him in when he was not playing at Hoffenheim. He was very good for me and scored seven goals in 19 games. We sat down and spoke and we said that playing football was the most important thing but obviously the financial side was important, too. We agreed a deal for Swansea but then I left to become Liverpool manager.
"I know what the market was and I was not prepared to pay anything over what I knew had already been agreed before. Liverpool would have provided Gylfi with a wonderful opportunity to perform with a manager that he knew at a club that is a footballing institution. But he has decided to go to Tottenham for whatever reason. I wish him all the best and he is a good kid. There is no ill feeling. We have got other targets and we will move on."
The Liverpool manager wants to consider the options at his disposal before moving in the transfer market. He said: "It takes time. The staff and the people behind the scenes are working hard to progress a number of possibilities. We have just got to be patient. I think we have got a bunch of wonderful players and I will take a look at that. There are one or two areas that we will need to improve, that is for sure. But, overall, the core of the group is strong." Read More
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