Gonzalez delay after work permit rejected
Aug 6 2005
By Ian Doyle Daily Post Staff
LIVERPOOL may have to wait until next year to sign Mark Gonzalez after their work permit application for the Chilean winger was rejected.
The European champions have no right to appeal against the decision reached by the Department of Education and Employment this week.
Rafael Benitez had sought to bring the 21-year-old to Anfield on a season-long loan from Spanish club Albacete with a view to a permanent £4.9million deal.
South African-born Gonzalez is currently sidelined with a cruciate ligament injury and, while not expected to be fit until October, was due to continue his recovery on Merseyside next week.
But the refusal to grant Gonzalez a work permit has scuppered those plans, with Benitez now likely to wait until January to launch another attempt to sign the player when more of the work permit criteria is met and the player is fully fit.
Liverpool officials attending a hearing in London on Thursday heard their application had been primarily rejected because Chile are not in the top 70 of the FIFA rankings and it is thought Gonzalez would have had to have been among the club's highest wage-earners for that problem to have been overcome.
Government regulations also require that when signing a young player from outside the EU, a club must convince officials that there is no comparable player in their own country.
Liverpool will delay any new application until Chile improve on their FIFA ranking of 72, although with their next fixture a World Cup qualifier in Brazil next month, it may only be until the double-header against Colombia and Ecuador in mid-October that Gonzalez's countrymen make the required rankings leap.
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Liverpool manager Benitez admitted he was surprised by the Government's decision to refuse the work permit.
"Mark's a player we have scouted for over six months," said the Spaniard. "I can tell the Liverpool fans who don't know too much about him that he's a player with lots and lots of ability. He is very fast, good in the air, good at crosses and he can score goals. In fact, he is the best player in Chile.
"We have had reports on the player from our own scouts, professional players, former players and other managers and they all say the same - that he is a very good player for now and even better for the future.
"We haven't been awarded a work permit though and I was very surprised to say the least."
Benitez added: "We must now wait because one of the problems is that his national team are not ranked in FIFA's top 70. If they win a couple of games, maybe they will move up the FIFA rankings and things may change. Gonzalez is already a player who will shine in the Premiership but very soon he could be one of the most exciting players in England."
Aston Villa, meanwhile, believe they are on the brink of signing Milan Baros, despite their failure to reach Liverpool's £7m valuation of the player.
Sources in the Midlands suggest David O'Leary is preparing a final offer of around £6m for the Czech Republic striker.
Villa are confident the presence in their squad of Baros's fellow countryman and former Anfield teammate Patrik Berger will persuade the 23-year-old to join.
Monaco are also interested in signing Baros, but are willing to pay only £5m and fear they will be outbid by Villa. However, Liverpool last night insisted they had received no offers for Baros and had not lowered their asking price.
* LIVERPOOL physio Dave Galley has left the club for Derby County.
Galley, who has been at Anfield since 1999, has decided to end his buttociation at the club to take up a similar role with the Coca-Cola Championship side.
Liverpool spokeman Ian Cotton said: "We'd like to wish Dave all the best for the future and thank him for all his hard work over the last six years at Anfield."
