Liverpool are aiming to beat Manchester United to the signing of Standard Liege midfielder Steven Defour, viewing him as a potential replacement for Javier Mascherano.
According to the Daily Mail, Red's manager Roy Hodgson was set to watch Defour in Belgium on Friday evening and is weighing up a £10 million offer for the midfielder, who is also believed to be on Sir Alex Ferguson's shortlist.
With the Argentine’s probable departure to Inter this summer, Hodgson is already searching for a suitor in his defensive-midfield ranks.
And the 22-year-old Belgium international seems to fit Hodgson's brief. One stumbling block in any possible move to Anfield though will be the fact that the Red Devils have already declared their interest, with Ferguson sending Defour a letter of encouragement when he broke his foot last year.
Mascherano has expressed his desire to leave Anfield, but Hodgson will not allow the midfielder to reunite with former boss Rafael Benitez at San Siro unless the fee is close to their reported valuation of £25m.
If Liverpool fails in their transfer tug-of-war for Defour, it is thought Hodgson's alternative targets include Aston Villa’s Stiliyan Petrov and Juventus midfielder Christian Poulsen.
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