Rafa Benitez is heading for a major fall-out with Peter Crouch as he tries to force the England striker out of Anfield in the January transfer window.
The Liverpool manager has decided to cash in on Crouch as soon as possible after confirming that he has a £20 million budget to spend on new players in the new year.
But the player, who has 18 months left on his contract, is determined to stay put until the summer unless he gets the right move for his future.
Benitez's patience with his centre-forward has finally snapped after Crouch's lacklustre performance in the 1-0 midweek defeat by Marseille and he is unlikely to play against Tottenham today.
The manager is irritated by the player's attitude towards his rotation system and his refusal to sign a new deal which would boost his resale value to the club.
Not only that, Crouch is looking for his first goal of the season after netting 24 times for club and country last season. Juventus,Real Madrid, Manchester City and Portsmouth are all interested in the 6ft 7in striker but he is prepared to wait until the summer to weigh up his options, particularly as he would be ineligible to play in the Champions League for another team this season.
Benitez, who has seen his side score just once in five Premier and Champions League games since hammering Derby 6-0, is ready to bring in new blood and Jon Arne Riise is also on the for-sale list.
The Anfield manager said: "We've been working on buying new players since the beginning of September. We do not have problems in the financial area because we have sold a lot of players.We have around 35m euros (£20.7m)."
Liverpool would get back the £7m they paid for Crouch if they sold him in January but the fee would drop as his contract started to run down.
Benitez admitted he was on the warpath following the Marseille debacle.
"We were really bad as a team so the staff and I and the players had to be together. I was really disappointed. And I was angry. But you cannot change anything by being angry.You need to analyse."
The Liverpool manager has decided to cash in on Crouch as soon as possible after confirming that he has a £20 million budget to spend on new players in the new year.
But the player, who has 18 months left on his contract, is determined to stay put until the summer unless he gets the right move for his future.
Benitez's patience with his centre-forward has finally snapped after Crouch's lacklustre performance in the 1-0 midweek defeat by Marseille and he is unlikely to play against Tottenham today.
The manager is irritated by the player's attitude towards his rotation system and his refusal to sign a new deal which would boost his resale value to the club.
Not only that, Crouch is looking for his first goal of the season after netting 24 times for club and country last season. Juventus,Real Madrid, Manchester City and Portsmouth are all interested in the 6ft 7in striker but he is prepared to wait until the summer to weigh up his options, particularly as he would be ineligible to play in the Champions League for another team this season.
Benitez, who has seen his side score just once in five Premier and Champions League games since hammering Derby 6-0, is ready to bring in new blood and Jon Arne Riise is also on the for-sale list.
The Anfield manager said: "We've been working on buying new players since the beginning of September. We do not have problems in the financial area because we have sold a lot of players.We have around 35m euros (£20.7m)."
Liverpool would get back the £7m they paid for Crouch if they sold him in January but the fee would drop as his contract started to run down.
Benitez admitted he was on the warpath following the Marseille debacle.
"We were really bad as a team so the staff and I and the players had to be together. I was really disappointed. And I was angry. But you cannot change anything by being angry.You need to analyse."
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