The Anfield manager stated his delight at the club’s deadline-day dealings after bringing in three new players on Monday, but reserved special praise for the former PSG defender

Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers has hailed the club’s ‘massive’ deadline day signing of Mamadou Sakho, and believes the Anfield side has done ‘very productive’ business during the summer transfer window.

Rodgers also completed the signings of Tiago Ilori and Victor Moses on Monday but, after expressing his delight at the dealings, the 40-year-old reserved special praise for the capture of France defender Sakho.

“I’m obviously very pleased. The window this summer has been very productive for us,” he told the club’s official website.

“Sakho who we’ve brought in was probably a surprise for many people because he was highly rated at PSG and a French international player. I think it’s a massive one.

“He is a player they were not wanting to lose, but he’d made it known he wasn’t going to sign another contract and it’s something that our people here at the club were very much on top of.

“Ilori is a wonderful talent. He was very much a coveted player throughout Europe. Those two players, especially Sakho, can play in the team now, but we’ve got one eye on the future as well.”

The former Chelsea coach has also brought in a new winger in the shape of Moses after completing a season-long loan deal, claiming him to be a player he has long admired since his days at Stamford Bridge.

He continued: “We’ve got Victor Moses on loan and he’s a young player that I’ve known from when he first came into the country. I had him train with me at Chelsea for a few weeks when I was a youth coach there.

“He was at Crystal Palace and we wanted to sign him at Chelsea, but he ended up staying at Palace. So I’ve been aware of Victor for a long time and know his qualities. He’s the type of offensive player I like.

“He’s got terrific skill with the ball, is a wonderful technician and can go left side or right side. The crowd will love him because he wants to beat players, but he also has a real work ethic to him.”

The Uruguay international attracted transfer offers from Arsenal but the player has now ended the speculation by admitting that he considers the move as a “closed chapter”

Luis Suarez has put a definitive end to the speculation surrounding his future by confirming he will remain at Liverpool.

The 26-year-old has been the subject of transfer interest from Arsenal but Goal revealed in August that the Uruguay international was resigned to staying at the Anfield club for another season.

Liverpool’s stance on their top goalscorer from last season was clear throughout, but Suarez has now insisted he was never searching for a move away from the club, labelling the saga as “a closed chapter”.

“When I left England, I had no news and I have no news now. To me, this is a closed chapter,” he told reporters in Uruguay ahead of their 2013 World Cup Qualifying trip to Peru on Friday.

“I always said that if something came up then fine, but if not then I’d stay happily at Liverpool, and that’s what I’m going to do.

“There were reports of several clubs signing me, but in the end I’m happy because I’m staying at Liverpool.”

Arsenal thought they had exercised a release clause for the player with a bid of £40,000,001, yet club owner John W. Henry insisted the clause only permits them to inform the player of the bid rather than sell.

But the north London club have been forced to pursue other transfer targets over the summer, with Goal revealing the club have sealed a spectacular deal to sign Real Madrid winger Mesut Ozil on a five-year contract.

More than a few eyebrows were raised when Fiorentina elected to pay Villarreal a reported €10 million for Giuseppe Rossi in January of this year. This, after all, was a player who had not played since October 2011, after rupturing his anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee twice in the space of six months. There were doubts over whether Rossi would return at all, let alone if he would come back the same player.

Well, after the past seven days, it seems that Rossi might even be better than he was before, with the forward having struck three times in his first two Serie A games of the season, against Catania and Genoa.

Rossi, for his part, is unsurprisingly refusing to get carried away, but given the way in which he is flourishing alongside Mario Gomez, earning a recall to the Italy squad in time for next summer’s World Cup now seems a realistic target for a striker who had gone 686 days without scoring a goal before he netted the opener against Catania on Monday.

“Rossi has made the most remarkable recovery,” enthuses Goal‘s Kris Voakes. “To come back the way he is is truly awe-inspiring, given that as well as having to deal with reinjuring his right knee, he also lost his father to a lengthy battle with illness in January 2012.

“It is obviously a joy for Fiorentina to see the gamble they took in signing Rossi pay off so handsomely, but Italy boss Cesare Prandelli must also be ecstatic about just how well the 26-year-old is performing and it would not be a surprise to see him back in the Azzurri set-up before the end of the year.

“Nothing is impossible for this incredibly strong-willed individual.”

The Shortlist

A. Eid Abdel-Malek – Zamalek @izzul_ikram: “Not fully fit and yet still so inspirational against Orlando Pirates.” Goal’s Ahmed Atta: “Scored one goal and created another as Zamalek claimed their first win in the group stages of the CAF CL in five years.”
Vedad Ibisevic – Stuttgart  @rayx22: “Vedad Ibisevic is back to his best!!!” Goal’s Enis Koylu: “Scored a fantastic hat-trick as Stuttgart picked up their first win of the season by routing former club Hoffenheim 6-2.”
Lionel Messi – Barcelona @Opta Jose: “Attempted seven shots on target vs Valencia, his best figure in a La Liga game in all his career. Indefatigable.” Goal’s Ben Hayward: “After a disappointing performance against Atletico, bounced back by scoring a sensational treble at Valencia.”
Daniel Sturridge – Liverpool @piersmorgan: “Good news > Daniel Sturridge just had his pocket surgically re-opened and @rioferdy5 has emerged.” Goal’s Sammy Lee: “After a cup double in midweek, he propelled Liverpool to the top of the Premier League with the winner against United.”