Gerrard could be Reds' win bonus

14 April 2012

Such was the intensity with which Steven Gerrard saluted the Liverpool fans at the end of Tuesday's unforgettable game at Anfield that the notion that he will join Chelsea in the summer had never seemed more preposterous.

There he was, 15 minutes after the final whistle had gone, the last player off the pitch, having gone to all four corners of the ground in ecstatic celebration.

"At the end I felt like jumping in and celebrating with the fans," he admitted afterwards.

The European Cup semi-final victory against his long-term suitors could prove to be the defining chapter in the ever-rumbling, everevolving saga of whether Gerrard will swap Merseyside for SW6.

Can Chelsea's millions and greater prospects of glory ever match the kind of evening when the local boy was revered like a god and given the stage that he has craved?

Having serenaded him before, during and after the game and long into one of the club's most memorable nights, Liverpool fans will now wonder how the boy from Huyton can possibly leave now.

Whatever the result against AC Milan in Istanbul on 25 May, the indications are that Anfield's talismanic skipper will resist the roubles of Roman Abramovich when he sits down with Rafael Benitez and Rick Parry to ponder his future at the end of the season.

Gerrard has kept a low profile over the past couple of months as Liverpool's fortunes fluctuated wildly from glorious midweek highs to depressing weekend lows.

He knew he had been too honest for his own good when, ahead of the Bayer Leverkusen tie in the last 16, he publicly doubted whether his team could win the European Cup.

After his own goal in the Carling Cup final and some below-par performances in the Premiership, the Anfield faithful were wondering aloud whether Liverpool should gratefully accept the £30million said to be on offer from Stamford Bridge and end all the disruption.

The inside word from Chelsea camp was that it was a 'done deal' anyhow, needing little more than a signature at the end of the season.

Having now reached the European Cup final, Gerrard's relationship with the Kop would appear to be restored to the fully blown love affair that could only be bestowed on a player raised in the city.

He was happy to go on the record yesterday with a reporter he knows well from the Liverpool Echo and drop the biggest hint yet that he sees his future on Merseyside.

"After the Champions League final I'll be sitting down with Rick Parry and the gaffer and discussing the future," he said.

"I've said all along all I wanted was to see the club going in the right direction and this shows we are."

Furthermore, last night the England star agreed to give a rare telephone interview on Sky Sports News in which he reiterated his desire to begin talks.

A source close to the player said: "If he wasn't planning on staying he wouldn't have said anything. He is cute enough to avoid discussing his future if he wants to.

"The game on Tuesday was very significant. Four months ago, I was 80 per cent certain he would leave. Now I am 90 per cent sure he'll stay."

The normally understated Benitez made it clear how much he values Gerrard before Tuesday's game, saying: "Chelsea have Lampard, Makelele, Tiago and Gudjohnsen. All fine players, some of the best in the world. But I have Steven Gerrard. He is better than the lot."

While Liverpool's league form is infuriatingly erratic, reaching the European Cup final is a glorious vindication of Benitez's coaching.

Even if Liverpool are denied a place in the Champions League next year, their skipper can see that his home-town club are back on track after faltering badly towards the end of Gerard Houllier's reign.

Of all Liverpool's momentous results down the years, few could prove to have a greater bearing on the future of a famous club than Tuesday's win.

It may just have convinced Anfield's favourite son not to leave.

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