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When a player is linked across multiple transfer windows, it usually boils down to lazy journalists and desperate rumour mongers rehashing old stories in an effort to dig up just a little more content with which to feed the beast. However, after years of being linked to Liverpool Football Club, from his early days in Portugal to his time at Lyon, French left back Aly Cissokho has today officially completed his move to Anfield on a loan-to-buy deal after a rumour-filled summer that has seen the player once again speak of his desire to join up with the English club he has long been fond of.
"I feel extremely proud to be here," he said of officially completing his move to Liverpool. "I've always dreamt of one day signing for a really legendary club. I've been lucky enough to play for a few top sides and so to now get the chance to play for a club like Liverpool, it's just fantastic. It's really pleasing when a club like Liverpool shows interest in you, and when that interest becomes more serious, you really can't wait for the move to go through. Now that the transfer has been completed, I'm really happy."
The 25-year-old left back spent last season at Valencia, moving to Spain from France on a £4M deal but struggling to recapture the kind of form that made him one of the brightest defensive prospects in football while at Vitoria and Porto. Given Valencia's continuing financial struggles he was always likely to be made available to any bidder willing to cover their losses. Meanwhile, for any side willing to take a gamble and in need of depth at left back, Cissokho's clear physical gifts and the promise of his early career will have continued to make him an intriguing proposition.
There were suggestions that Cissokho was in fact Liverpool's first target to add depth and competition at left back, but that the club was only willing to gamble on the player being able to turn his career around if the deal was structured such that most of the gamble was taken out of it. That desire obviously ran counter to Valencia's goals, and so any move for Cissokho soon took a back seat to Liverpool's chase of Granada fullback Guilherme Siqueira, a deal that looked all but completed when Granada decided to nearly triple their asking price.
For Liverpool, it meant a quick shift back to Cissokho and Valencia. This time around, with nobody having proven willing to give Valencia the fee they hoped for up front, the Spanish club was more amenable to compromise. Reports indicate that Liverpool will pay a £1M loan fee upfront with an option to pay a further £4M next summer should they decide to keep the player, which if Cissokho does indeed rediscover the form of his early career will remain a bargain while removing the risk of being tied to the player long-term if he doesn't.