Kewell Liverpool’s ‘missing link’

HARRY KEWELL headed for a Swiss training camp to escape the rumpus over his £5million move to Liverpool yesterday insisting that Leeds “have come up trumps”.

Australian midfielder Kewell has been accused of being a money grabber and stabbing Leeds fans in the back after nine years at the club. But Kewell, described by Gerard Houllier as the “missing link” for his much-criticised Liverpool attack, claims he does not owe Leeds anything and was not prepared to join a club a did not want to.

Kewell said: “I’m sorry to say that Leeds never offered me a new contract and never put actually figures and numbers in front of me for me to sit down and discuss. It’s disappointing, I was there nine years and you expect a friendship with the club, but there was no friendship there. They didn’t want to offer me a contract.”

And Kewell also dismissed the theory that Leeds, who will get only £3m from the deal, have been short-changed.

The 24-year-old added: “People love what they do. If someone asked you to go and be a road sweeper somewhere else and you didn’t want to go, why should you have to do that, even if it was to get more money but something you didn’t want to do?

“Don’t get me wrong, the other clubs who came for me are great ones. But playing for Liverpool is my main aim. Why do I have to repay Leeds? They never bought me when I was young, they were only doing what they do with normal players and that didn’t involve paying a big fee for me.

“In a way they have come up trumps. It’s disappointing how the chairman at Leeds has portrayed me, but I can’t do anything about that. All I can say is the fans were always great to me, and I was grateful for that.

“It’s been a shame the way it has panned out. I have left a great club and gone to a great club, it would have been nice for it to be all smiles and cheerful. But the last few days, it has been blown out of all proportion. It has taken the shine away, but I’m just happy to be here now.”

Kewell was unveiled as a Liverpool player at Anfield yesterday and Houllier’s obvious delight at snapping up the midfielder put a smile back on his face. He said: “Everyone kept telling me I should be playing Champions League, but I will be. I think the Premiership is the most exciting to win and I’m in that, it would have been great to be in the Champions League, but there’s other cups and a lot of things I can still do here.

“I believe this team can bring back the days when I used to watch my countryman Craig Johnston as a kid, we can give the fans what they deserve.”

And Liverpool supremo Rick Parry hit back at Leeds’ claims the club initially offered £7m for Kewell but then lowered their offer. The whole deal has been shrouded in controversy with Leeds’ chairman Professor John McKenzie claiming Liverpool dropped the offer on advice of Kewell’s agent.

McKenzie has raised questions over where the £2m saved has gone, but Parry insisted it was never on offer to Leeds and it has not gone straight to Kewell.

“I’m not sure I want to get drawn into a slanging match with Professor McKenzie, the discussions have been cordial and long may they stay that way. But no, we didn’t make an offer of £7m on July 4. I don’t know what Professor McKenzie means, I just know the realities of the case.

“Harry here has turned his back on some huge offers over the last few days. Make no mistake, he has not come here purely for money. He’s well rewarded and rightly so, but he’s come for football reasons.

Once he’d made up his mind to come to Liverpool he has stuck with that right down the line, there has never been an attempt to change the terms and the deal.”