Kolo Toure’s desire to remain in the North West is likely to see him link up with Liverpool.
The Ivory Coast international first arrived in England back in the February of 2002, when Arsene Wenger snapped him up after an impressive trial spell. Toure enjoyed a largely successful seven years in the capital, during which time he helped Arsenal to two FA Cup victories and the Premier League title of 2004 when they remained unbeaten
Manchester City paid £16million for the defender in the summer of 2009, as Mark Hughes set about building a team capable of challenging for the title. The 32-year-old did indeed become a league winner again in 2012, albeit under the leadership of Roberto Mancini, who succeeded the aforementioned Welshman just five months after Toure’s arrival.
The former Gunners ace, who has also won an FA Cup during his time in Manchester, made just 14 appearances in that Premier League winning campaign, as Mancini preferred a partnership of Vincent Kompany and Joleon Lescott. And this season, although he has made 15 outings, he has slipped further down the pecking order following the arrival of Mateja Nastasic.
Toure is out of contract during the summer and has already stated he will leave the Etihad Stadium in search of regular first team football, and there appears to be no shortage of takers. Galatasaray and Paris St Germain, winners of their league titles in Turkey and France respectively, are both said to be keen, yet it looks as though a move closer to home is on the cards.
The Ivorian is believed to be unwilling to uproot his family from the North West, particularly as his children are now settled at school in the area. This has given Brendan Rodgers an ideal chance to bolster his defensive options at Liverpool, with veteran Jamie Carragher hanging up his boots at the end of the season and Martin Skrtel and Sebastian Coates both tipped to leave.
It has been widely reported that Toure has already agreed a deal in principle with the Reds, yet he is unable to official seal the transfer at the moment as he is away with City on their tour of the United States. However, when he returns later this month he is expected to travel to Merseyside to undergo a medical and complete the formalities.
