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RAFAEL BENITEZ is ready to step up his summer recruitment drive after Peter Crouch moved to the brink of a move to Portsmouth. Crouch held talks with the Fratton Park outfit yesterday and underwent a medical after Liverpool accepted an offer for him. The proposed deal will see Portsmouth make an initial payment of around £8.75million, a figure that could rise to almost £11m with add-ons and incentives over the course of Crouch’s contract. “We have reached a verbal agreement with Portsmouth and have given them permission to speak with Peter,” confirmed a Liverpool spokesman yesterday. While short of Benitez’s £15m public valuation, Portsmouth’s bid would represent a profit on the £7m Liverpool spent to sign the striker from Southampton in 2005. Crouch, who has less than a year remaining on his present Anfield deal, has... [read full story]
