Rafa Benitez will sign a new contract after winning his power struggle with Liverpool chief executive Rick Parry and his first move after putting pen to paper will be to launch a £20m raid for Aston Villa and England midfielder Gareth Barry.
This column revealed on Monday that Benitez faced the axe because support on the Anfield board was wearing thin.
But owners Tom Hicks and George Gillett have decided the club's imminent failure to regain the Premier League title was because of a lack of quality purchases in the transfer market last summer.
That was when Benitez set out his stall to lure Barry from Villa to Merseyside only to be thwarted in his plans when the Reds refused to increase their £16m to match Martin O'Neill's £18m valuation.
There was a bizarre twist when Liverpool then splashed out £20.3m for Spurs striker Robbie Keane only for Benitez to run him out of town last month when he returned to White Hart Lane for just £12m.
The Liverpool manager still wants Barry to team up with talismanic Steven Gerrard as he feels they would form a midfield partnership which would be the fulcrum to Liverpool's success.
Now Parry is stepping down, after apparently losing Gillett's support, Benitez holds the upper hand although he will be under pressure to produce silverware next season.
This column revealed on Monday that Benitez faced the axe because support on the Anfield board was wearing thin.
But owners Tom Hicks and George Gillett have decided the club's imminent failure to regain the Premier League title was because of a lack of quality purchases in the transfer market last summer.
That was when Benitez set out his stall to lure Barry from Villa to Merseyside only to be thwarted in his plans when the Reds refused to increase their £16m to match Martin O'Neill's £18m valuation.
There was a bizarre twist when Liverpool then splashed out £20.3m for Spurs striker Robbie Keane only for Benitez to run him out of town last month when he returned to White Hart Lane for just £12m.
The Liverpool manager still wants Barry to team up with talismanic Steven Gerrard as he feels they would form a midfield partnership which would be the fulcrum to Liverpool's success.
Now Parry is stepping down, after apparently losing Gillett's support, Benitez holds the upper hand although he will be under pressure to produce silverware next season.
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