David Sullivan has said Blues could not keep Jermaine Pennant at the club against his will.
‘Had we not accepted Liverpool’s offer, there is no doubt his head would have gone down.
‘We must have players who want to play for the club and we couldn’t afford to have an unhappy Jermaine staying here once the bid got to a certain level.’
Liverpool have agreed to pay an initial £6.7million for the player, and it is set to rise to nearer £8 million depending on clauses.
‘We’ve said ‘no’ to them all summer. We made it clear what the situation was but they decided to pay more or less what we wanted.
‘We would have liked to have kept him but we also have to be realistic.
‘Even before I got to the training ground on Tuesday he was out there sunning himself on his own. He knew things were going on through his agent and his mind was elsewhere.
‘Liverpool can give him the chance to win things, European football and probably the opportunity to double his wages. So he’s not going to want to stay here, is he?
‘It’s the same sort of thing with Neil Danns. Colchester United were not going to be able to stand in his way of bettering himself.
‘The bottom line was that he wanted to play in the Premiership and the deal was good for everyone.
‘We need to score more goals and he only got four last season, which contributed to our relegation.
‘We are pursuing players, we have bids in, we are trying hard, what we don’t want to do, however, is sign some guy from Timbuktu who is a complete write-off.
‘We have put in 13 offers for different players but a combination of clubs not wanting to sell and players not wanting to come into the Championship has made the job really difficult.
‘But there will definitely be more quality additions to the squad before the start of the season.
‘We must have players who want to be here, they must want to contribute and do well for us, especially on a cold, wet night at Southend.
‘What this (Pennant’s sale) means is that I wouldn’t think anyone else will be leaving.’
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