Benitez Fighting On Four Fronts As Liverpool Look To Tie Up Barry Deal

Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez refused to admit the Barclays Premier League title has become his number one priority as the Merseyside club prepares to successfully conclude their summer-long quest to sign Gareth Barry.

Villa have already rejected a number of bids which fell short of their £18million valuation but manager Martin O'Neill admitted the door was open for Benitez to come in again with an acceptable bid for his skipper.

Robbie Keane was signed from Tottenham in the last week for £20.3million, and although Benitez has said he will have to sell before he can buy Barry, the recruitment of the England international would give added hope of bringing the much-coveted league title back to Anfield for the first time since 1990.

Liverpool demolished Rangers 4-0 in a friendly at Ibrox to keep them unbeaten in six pre-season games, and they would hope to unveil Barry before their friendly against Lazio next Friday.

Benitez was reluctant to comment on the prospect of the Barry deal being resurrected but stressed there was no more importance placed on Liverpool adding to their record 18 title wins than their Champions League aspirations this season.

'Everything is important,' he said.

'Europe is important, the Premier League is important, the FA Cup and the Carling Cup, so we will try to win every trophy and you never know.

'We will try to win from the first game and then see the situation. Clearly we have confidence in ourselves and have the quality to try to win every game but you never know what can happen in any competition.

'We started really well and finished really well last season. If we can do the same this time then hopefully we will be better in the middle of the season.

'But we will be working really hard to be as competitive as we can.'

Certainly, Liverpool showed enough at Ibrox to suggest they will offer a serious threat to likely front runners Manchester United, Chelsea and Arsenal this season.

New striker David Ngog opened his account for the Reds after Fernando Torres had given them a first-half lead.

As Rangers dissolved into disarray, Yossi Benayoun grabbed number three before Xabi Alonso scored from the penalty spot.

Alonso is thought to be one player that could be on the move to free up some money for the Barry transfer but Benitez insists the Spaniard will not necessarily leave Anfield before the transfer window closes.

He said: 'It's simple. He is a very good player who is playing for us and I am really pleased with that.'

Leto To Leave Reds?

Liverpool winger Sebastian Leto’s future at Anfield hangs in the balance with news that his Italian passport could be revoked.

According to The Mirror, the Italian authorities are investigating a series of passport applications after uncovering a number of irregularities in several cases.

The investigation prompted the home office to reject the Argentinean’s work permit application on Friday, meaning that he is still ineligible to move to play in England.

The work permit issues forced Reds manager Rafa Benitez to move the youngster to Olympiakos on loan, though such an agreement would have to be ended should his Italian passport be removed.

The 21-year old moved to Anfield from Argentinian side Lanus, but without a work permit he was restricted to a handful of non-competitive games.

Rafa Happy To Still Have Alonso

Liverpool boss Rafa Benitez insists that he is glad to not have cashed in on Xabi Alonso during the summer.

Prior to Euro 2008 it seemed a foregone conclusion that Alonso would end his four-year spell on Merseyside to join Juventus, but the knock on effect of the Italians opting for the cheaper Christian Poulsen instead, and Aston Villa knocking back bid after bid for Gareth Barry has resulted in the Spaniard remaining rooted in Anfield.

Internazionale, Arsenal and Fenerbahce are still reported to be interested in the 26-year-old, but Benitez has suggested that he is no longer looking to sell.

"It's simple. He is a very good player who is playing for us and I am really pleased with that," the Reds boss told Sky Sports News.

Benitez was also questioned about whether the league title in now definitely the priority now that their domestic drought has is almost into its third decade, but the Spaniard refused to paint himself into a corner.

"Everything is important," he added. "Europe is important, the Premier League is important, the FA Cup and the Carling Cup, so we will try to win every trophy and you never know.

"We will try to win from the first game and then see the situation. We started really well and finished really well last season.

"Clearly we have confidence in ourselves and have the quality to try to win every game but you never know what can happen in any competition.

"If we can do the same this time then hopefully we will be better in the middle of the season. But we will be working really hard to be as competitive as we can."

Wenger Tells Liverpool To Lower £18m Fee For Alonso

Arsène Wenger wants Xabi Alonso to form a Spanish midfield axis with Cesc Fábregas at Arsenal next season, provided Liverpool dramatically lower their £18m price for the marginalised playmaker.

Arsenal have made an initial approach for the 26-year-old Alonso, who has been told he can leave Anfield for the right price. His first-team prospects are threatened by the imminent arrival of Gareth Barry; Liverpool's manager, Rafael Benítez, hopes finally to complete the saga of Barry's £18m transfer from Aston Villa this week, after Martin O'Neill was forced to make a U-turn over his captain's future, and has insisted on a similar fee for Alonso as he attempts to balance the books.

Benítez's price tag, however, has deterred Arsenal from returning with a firm offer for a player they value at closer to the £10.5m Liverpool paid Real Sociedad for him four years ago. The deal will remain only a remote possibility unless Arsenal revise their stance or, despite Benítez's insistence that Alonso and Barry can operate in his already crowded central midfield, the Liverpool manager's need to raise funds forces a compromise.

"I don't think it will be easy [for him to leave]," admitted Benítez in Glasgow on Saturday. "The value of Alonso in the market will be really high. We are really pleased with him and we don't want him to go unless we get a very good price."

Liverpool had intended to sell Alonso to Juventus to finance Barry's transfer but, despite the collapse of that deal and a lack of suitors apart from Arsenal, Benítez will sign Villa's captain provided Liverpool's co-owners underwrite a loan to conclude the £18m deal. Tom Hicks and George Gillett promised the money before Villa's deadline to complete the transfer last week, only for a revised payment structure to cause Liverpool to miss the cut-off point - whereupon Villa issued a statement insisting, farcically, that the deal was off.

Liverpool's willingness to meet Villa's asking price led Barry and his agent, Alex Black, to insist again on the move on Friday morning. O'Neill and Randy Lerner, Villa's owner, then ended their resistance and put the onus back on Liverpool to come up with the package they had promised last week. "I gave it some thought and realised there is little point in pretending," said the Villa manager. "Gareth would want to join Liverpool and therefore there would be no deadline. I have agreed with Gareth now. That's it, no problem: Liverpool have all the time in the world to do it if they want to raise the money."

Barry Banks On Yanks

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.

Skrtel Ready For Standard

Liverpool defender Martin Skrtel admits he and his team-mates will take a trip into the unknown when they meet Standard Liege in the UEFA Champions League.

Rafa Benitez will take his Liverpool side to Belgium for the first-leg of their third qualifying round clash against Standard on either 12th or 13th of August, before the return fixture at Anfield two weeks later.

And Skrtel, who played against Standard while with former club Zenit St Petersburg, admits the Belgian outfit will enjoy the element of surprise, but insists Liverpool are confident of reaching the group stages.

"We will see in the double-header if they (Standard) are difficult opponents or not. They are an inscrutable team," Skrtel told SITA.

"Last season, when playing for Zenit, I played against them in the Uefa Cup and although we advanced, the two games against them were very tough.

"Our goal is to reach the group stages and we will do our best to achieve that.

"Everyone at Liverpool, players as well as the club management, take appearing in the main phase of the Champions League as an obvious goal, so we simply have to knock Standard out from the competition."

Buoyant Rafael Benitez Targets Four Trophies

The Spaniard, bolstered by the signing of Robbie Keane and confirmation the Gareth Barry deal is still on, claimed the Anfield club would be hunting four trophies this season.

"Everything is important," he said. "Europe is important, the Premier League is important, the FA Cup and the Carling Cup, so we will try to win every trophy and you never know. We will try to win from the first game and then see the situation.

"Clearly we have confidence in ourselves and have the quality to try to win every game but you never know what can happen in any competition. We started really well and finished really well last season.

"If we can do the same this time then hopefully we will be better in the middle of the season. But we will be working really hard to be as competitive as we can."

But it wasn't all good news for Benitez, who needs to sell before buying Barry, with confirmation that Juventus have finally ended their pursuit of Reds midfielder Xabi Alonso.

The Spaniard had been tipped for a £10 million move to Italy but Juve manager Claudio Ranieri denied he was interested after watching his side lose 3-0 to Hamburg in London on Sunday.

Across Stanley Park Everton manager David Moyes insisted he would sign a new contract despite reports of a rift with the club's board.

Moyes, 45, has a year to run of his current contract but is reportedly unhappy at the club's lack of transfer funds.

"I am not going anywhere.I am here and intend to see the job through. We have great expectations and I hope that I am able to fulfill them," he said.

"I hope that maybe we can try and get together in the next week or two and sort something out. At the moment my energies are focused on bringing in new players. We have a certain amount of money to improve what we have got here."

Manchester United captain Rio Ferdinand has praised team-mate Wayne Rooney, describing his contribution to last season's double-winning campaign as "awesome".

The England centre-back told The People: "He had to take the responsibility of leading the line on his shoulders and he was awesome.

"He played out of position a lot. He played on the left and sacrificed himself so many times for the team. I know the manager wants to see Wayne playing in his more accustomed position, just off the front. Maybe that will happen if we sign a striker and then you'll see how dangerous he can be."

Hull continued their Premier League countdown with a 1-0 defeat away to Scottish club Hearts.

Lithuanian Audrius Ksanavicius scored the game's only goal, heading home in the 33rd minute to hand new Hearts manager Csaba Laszlo victory in his first game at Tynecastle.

Hull included summer signings George Boateng, Anthony Gardner and former Manchester City player Geovanni, who proved their most potent threat as he tested Hearts keeper Steve Banks with a series of free-kicks.

The result left Hull still looking for their first victory after three pre-season friendlies.

Sunderland manager Roy Keane has confirmed that striker Kenwyne Jones will undergo knee surgery.

Keane, speaking after his side's 1-0 friendly defeat to Ajax, said the Trinidad and Tobago international suffered knee ligament damage while playing against England in June and would undergo an exploratory operation to ascertain the extent of the injury.

Meanwhile, ambitious Championship club Queen's Park Rangers have snapped up Real Madrid youngster Daniel Parejo on a one-year loan.

Parejo, 19, scored the 85th-minute winner for Real against Hamburg in Sunday's Emirates Cup match but will spend the new season at Loftus Road instead of the Bernabeu.

"The youth team midfielder will therefore play in the Football League Championship next season, where he will continue progressing and honing his skills," confirmed a Real Madrid spokesman.