Jose Mourinho is ready to make one last-ditch attempt to sign Steven Gerrard.
The Real Madrid coach is trying to persuade the Bernabeu hierarchy to offer the £30million required to prise the England captain from Liverpool.
Spanish sources indicate that Mourinho is a long way from giving up on the midfielder and his renewed interest is another problem for Roy Hodgson, who admitted that he can do no more to keep striker Fernando Torres.
New boss Hodgson coaxed Gerrard into publicly committing his future to Liverpool last week, but he insists that issues with the debt-laden club are what have prevented Torres following suit.
Liverpool's ability to compete for trophies is at the heart of the problem and that is likely to be highlighted by Javier Mascherano, who is expected to demand a move to Inter Milan this week.
As the club's pre-season tour ended with a 1-0 defeat by Kaiserslautern in Germany, Hodgson is fighting fires that are not of his making. He has walked into the problems left by Rafael Benitez and his sacking, so it is ironic that the Spaniard's most bitter rival in English football should create another headache.
Mourinho, who repeatedly clashed with former Liverpool boss Benitez when he was in charge at Chelsea, has long been an admirer of Gerrard.
The Real Madrid manager's revived interest is almost a repeat of what happened six years ago, when an apparently disenchanted Gerrard looked set for a move to Chelsea.
But the England star decided to stay at Anfield after a discussion with Benitez who took over from Gerard Houllier.
Mourinho has again done nothing to quell speculation linking him with Gerrard, who tops his wish list.
He hopes to show Real president Florentino Perez the value of making Gerrard a notable exception to the Spanish club's normal practice of recruiting younger players.
If successful, it would be devastating to Hodgson, whose three-week reign has been beset by problems.
Gerrard is critical to Liverpool's chances of even moderate success because of the message it would send out if he was sold.
Hodgson would find it virtually impossible to replace the homegrown skipper and his sale would also certainly seal Torres's exit into the bargain.
'I've had a meeting with Fernando but there's not much more I can say,' said the former Fulham manager. 'If he has got problems with the club about things that happened in the past, then it's difficult for me to dismiss that.
'His situation has got nothing to do with me and he made that clear on the phone during the World Cup and when I met him face-to-face.
'I can't do much more than let him know that, like every Liverpool fan, I would like him to stay and would love to work with him.
'It's now for the club to satisfy him in whatever way they need to.'
Managing director Christian Purslow has been in Majorca trying to convince Torres and his representatives that the club did not oversell their ambitions last year when they persuaded him to sign a new deal until 2013.
Hodgson insists the meetings have been 'more positive than negative' but he also admitted that is no indication of the outcome. No wonder Hodgson insisted he had not yet lifted the air of gloom around Anfield last week.
He may have pulled off a coup by signing free agent Joe Cole on a free transfer from Chelsea but having uncertainty surrounding the futures of Torres, Mascherano and Gerrard again puts him on the backfoot.
Liverpool are also short of a recognised left-back three weeks before the start of the Premier League season, so the headache of having to play the season's first competitive game on Thursday is one Hodgson could do without.
Liverpool face a gruelling trip to Macedonia to play FK Rabotnicki in the third qualifying round of the Europa League and potential fatigue is sure to be a worry ahead of the domestic campaign.
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