Dalglish v McLeish in Downing battle

Kenny Dalglish will refuse to give up on his pursuit of Stewart Downing, despite Aston Villa's reluctance to sell.

Downing's departure too, could create mutiny amongst the fans, and McLeish knows he must fight tooth and nail to keep the player as he looks to calm the situation.

The new manager virtually confirmed yesterday that Young will leave, but he insisted the battle to keep Downing continues.

"No chance do we want Stewart Downing to go. We certainly don?t want to lose Stewart - he's a top player," McLeish explained.

"I need to see what Stewart's thinking when he comes back because I know that he made some comments when he was away on England duty.

"I'll have a chat with one or two in the coming days and weeks before pre-season training starts and once I get them in for pre-season training proper then I'll get a better idea.

"It's not confirmed yet but it does seem likely, that Ashley Young will leave. In my humble opinion it will be very difficult to keep him."

But Liverpool are still confident the winger wants to come to Anfield, and Dalglish believes he will get his man if a price can be thrashed out with the Midlands club.

Source: Daily Mirror