Rafael Benítez may be forced to part with as many as four senior international squad members in the January transfer window as he attempts to trim Liverpool’s wage bill and balance the Anfield books.
Ryan Babel, Andrea Dossena, Andriy Voronin and Philipp Degen will all be sacrificed should suitable offers arrive, even though there are currently no guarantees that Benítez will be granted the revenue generated by their departures to reinvest into the Liverpool team.
The Spaniard has seen his team’s Premier League and Champions League challenges falter under the weight of an extensive injury list, highlighting the paucity of resources available to him after two consecutive summers of little net outlay on the playing staff.
Yet the financial restrictions at Anfield are such that Benítez will be forced to endure the last six months of the campaign with a squad depleted still further unless he can find suitable reinforcements on loan.
Dossena, an £8 million signing from Udinese last year, has found his playing time severely restricted by the emergence of Emiliano Insua as Liverpool’s first-choice left-back and will return to his native Italy in January in the hope of securing a place in Marcello Lippi’s World Cup squad.
Napoli, who came close to signing him in the summer, remain interested, but the club’s president, Aurelio De Laurentiis, is unwilling to fund a permanent deal until next summer. It is likely Liverpool would have to make a contribution to the player’s wages should he agree a loan return to Italy.
Voronin, though he has signally failed to impress in England, remains well-regarded in Germany after an impressive loan spell with Hertha Berlin last season, and several clubs are believed to be ready to offer him a return to the Bundesliga.
Degen, too, a free transfer signing from Borussia Dortmund, is likely to head to Germany in search of the regular appearances which would guarantee him a ticket to South Africa. Both are believed to be on around £40,000-a-week at Anfield, a figure most German sides would struggle to match.
Babel insisted earlier this week that he sees his future at Anfield but the Dutch international has also admitted in the past that he would consider a return to his old club Ajax to safeguard his World Cup place, though any such move is unlikely to be permanent.
Benítez will be hoping several of his highly-regarded youngsters will be able to fill the breach, though uncertainty continues to cloud the futures of Nathan Eccleston – the young striker recently handed his first-team debut – after he rejected a contract extension last week amid reported interest from several Premier League clubs, and Lauri Dalla Valle, a Finnish prospect believed to be discontent with his lack of progress through the club’s ranks.
The Liverpool manager, though, will at least be able to count on Steven Gerrard, Glen Johnson and Daniel Agger for Saturday's crucial game with Manchester City, with the return of his captain particularly pleasing. “The second injection [in my groin] seems to have done the trick,” said Gerrard. “I’m feeling a lot better, a lot stronger and now I just have to get my match sharpness back.”
Ryan Babel, Andrea Dossena, Andriy Voronin and Philipp Degen will all be sacrificed should suitable offers arrive, even though there are currently no guarantees that Benítez will be granted the revenue generated by their departures to reinvest into the Liverpool team.
The Spaniard has seen his team’s Premier League and Champions League challenges falter under the weight of an extensive injury list, highlighting the paucity of resources available to him after two consecutive summers of little net outlay on the playing staff.
Yet the financial restrictions at Anfield are such that Benítez will be forced to endure the last six months of the campaign with a squad depleted still further unless he can find suitable reinforcements on loan.
Dossena, an £8 million signing from Udinese last year, has found his playing time severely restricted by the emergence of Emiliano Insua as Liverpool’s first-choice left-back and will return to his native Italy in January in the hope of securing a place in Marcello Lippi’s World Cup squad.
Napoli, who came close to signing him in the summer, remain interested, but the club’s president, Aurelio De Laurentiis, is unwilling to fund a permanent deal until next summer. It is likely Liverpool would have to make a contribution to the player’s wages should he agree a loan return to Italy.
Voronin, though he has signally failed to impress in England, remains well-regarded in Germany after an impressive loan spell with Hertha Berlin last season, and several clubs are believed to be ready to offer him a return to the Bundesliga.
Degen, too, a free transfer signing from Borussia Dortmund, is likely to head to Germany in search of the regular appearances which would guarantee him a ticket to South Africa. Both are believed to be on around £40,000-a-week at Anfield, a figure most German sides would struggle to match.
Babel insisted earlier this week that he sees his future at Anfield but the Dutch international has also admitted in the past that he would consider a return to his old club Ajax to safeguard his World Cup place, though any such move is unlikely to be permanent.
Benítez will be hoping several of his highly-regarded youngsters will be able to fill the breach, though uncertainty continues to cloud the futures of Nathan Eccleston – the young striker recently handed his first-team debut – after he rejected a contract extension last week amid reported interest from several Premier League clubs, and Lauri Dalla Valle, a Finnish prospect believed to be discontent with his lack of progress through the club’s ranks.
The Liverpool manager, though, will at least be able to count on Steven Gerrard, Glen Johnson and Daniel Agger for Saturday's crucial game with Manchester City, with the return of his captain particularly pleasing. “The second injection [in my groin] seems to have done the trick,” said Gerrard. “I’m feeling a lot better, a lot stronger and now I just have to get my match sharpness back.”
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