Gareth Barry’s dream of finally joining Liverpool now lies in the hands of the club’s American owners.
Aston Villa boss Martin O’Neill has given up hope of keeping the England star at his club and told Rafa Benitez that Barry is all theirs.
But the Liverpool manager is now sweating over whether joint owners George Gillett and Tom Hicks will stump up the £18m needed to clinch the drawn out deal.
Benitez had persuaded the pair to pay the money last week only for Villa to suddenly end talks claiming a 5pm deadline had not been met.
Since then, Gillett and Hicks are believed to have cooled on the idea of paying so much for the 27-year-old.
Reds boss Benitez went out on a limb to convince the Americans that Barry would improve his squad and was value for money.
So he will be fuming if they go back on their decision to pay up with the transfer now in a position to go through in the next 48 hours.
A further complication emerged last night with news that Steve Finnan might not be willing to make a switch to Villa Park as part of the deal.
Finnan, who was officially absent for the 4-0 friendly win over Rangers at the weekend with a minor injury, will be frozen out at Anfield by Benitez who has other options at right-back.
But unless the 32-year-old has a change of heart, Gillett and Hicks will have to eek out a bit more cash to meet Villa’s price for their skipper.
The US tycoons were persuaded by Benitez in a series of transatlantic phonecalls last Tuesday to dip into their own pockets rather than wait for him to first raise the money to fund Barry’s acquisition by trimming his squad.
The Liverpool manager was given a budget of £20m at the end of last season and has raised around £17.5m through the sales of Peter Crouch, Scott Carson, John Arne Riise and Danny Guthrie.
He has spent £30.5m this summer – the bulk on £20m Robbie Keane – and the sums mean Gillett and Hicks would have personally had to find an additional £11m to secure Barry.
O’Neill’s climbdown means Barry’s future is now in the hands of Gillett and Hicks.
Blocking the deal will see the row between themselves and Benitez blow up again. But they can point to their massive investment in the current squad as proof they have backed up their manager.
Barry’s arrival at Anfield would see Benitez’s spending crash through the £100m barrier since last summer, although the Spaniard has also recouped around £51m through sales.
That level of backing demands Liverpool challenge for the title this season with Benitez’s biggest headache working out what team to pick each week.
Barry could yet find himself on the left of midfield with the Anfield boss furious at the Government’s decision to turn down a work permit application for Argentine winger Sebastian Leto last Friday.
Leto played last season with an Italian passport, later revoked by the Italian government and currently subject to an appeal.
Liverpool applied for a permit with Benitez telling a hearing in Sheffield he planned to select the 21-year-old, in light of the departures of Harry Kewell and Riise.
However, the tribunal hearing refused to approve the paperwork.
“The system needs to change, clearly,” said Benitez, who takes his side to Norway today after seeing Fernando Torres, newboy David Ngog, Yossi Benayoun and Xabi Alonso score in their one-sided stroll at Ibrox.
Aston Villa boss Martin O’Neill has given up hope of keeping the England star at his club and told Rafa Benitez that Barry is all theirs.
But the Liverpool manager is now sweating over whether joint owners George Gillett and Tom Hicks will stump up the £18m needed to clinch the drawn out deal.
Benitez had persuaded the pair to pay the money last week only for Villa to suddenly end talks claiming a 5pm deadline had not been met.
Since then, Gillett and Hicks are believed to have cooled on the idea of paying so much for the 27-year-old.
Reds boss Benitez went out on a limb to convince the Americans that Barry would improve his squad and was value for money.
So he will be fuming if they go back on their decision to pay up with the transfer now in a position to go through in the next 48 hours.
A further complication emerged last night with news that Steve Finnan might not be willing to make a switch to Villa Park as part of the deal.
Finnan, who was officially absent for the 4-0 friendly win over Rangers at the weekend with a minor injury, will be frozen out at Anfield by Benitez who has other options at right-back.
But unless the 32-year-old has a change of heart, Gillett and Hicks will have to eek out a bit more cash to meet Villa’s price for their skipper.
The US tycoons were persuaded by Benitez in a series of transatlantic phonecalls last Tuesday to dip into their own pockets rather than wait for him to first raise the money to fund Barry’s acquisition by trimming his squad.
The Liverpool manager was given a budget of £20m at the end of last season and has raised around £17.5m through the sales of Peter Crouch, Scott Carson, John Arne Riise and Danny Guthrie.
He has spent £30.5m this summer – the bulk on £20m Robbie Keane – and the sums mean Gillett and Hicks would have personally had to find an additional £11m to secure Barry.
O’Neill’s climbdown means Barry’s future is now in the hands of Gillett and Hicks.
Blocking the deal will see the row between themselves and Benitez blow up again. But they can point to their massive investment in the current squad as proof they have backed up their manager.
Barry’s arrival at Anfield would see Benitez’s spending crash through the £100m barrier since last summer, although the Spaniard has also recouped around £51m through sales.
That level of backing demands Liverpool challenge for the title this season with Benitez’s biggest headache working out what team to pick each week.
Barry could yet find himself on the left of midfield with the Anfield boss furious at the Government’s decision to turn down a work permit application for Argentine winger Sebastian Leto last Friday.
Leto played last season with an Italian passport, later revoked by the Italian government and currently subject to an appeal.
Liverpool applied for a permit with Benitez telling a hearing in Sheffield he planned to select the 21-year-old, in light of the departures of Harry Kewell and Riise.
However, the tribunal hearing refused to approve the paperwork.
“The system needs to change, clearly,” said Benitez, who takes his side to Norway today after seeing Fernando Torres, newboy David Ngog, Yossi Benayoun and Xabi Alonso score in their one-sided stroll at Ibrox.
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