Liverpool In Italian Fight For Out-Of-Favour Former Barca Wing Wizard

Liverpool faces competition from Genoa in the race to sign Spurs winger Giovani Dos Santos.

The Guardian reports that the Italian outfit is close to landing the player, leaving Liverpool boss Roy Hodgson with a decision to make over a potential move for the player.

Still only 21-years-old, Dos Santos has 34 caps to his name for Mexico after making his debut in 2007. At the time the player was at Barcelona, but moved to Spurs the following year for a fee in the region of £5 million.

With only 10 White Hart Lane appearances to his name, Dos Santos has spent time on loan at Ipswich and Galatasaray in an effort to get first team football, and Liverpool were linked with a move for the player in the summer.

Hodgson is thought to be keen on adding attacking options in the January transfer window, with the Liverpool chief thought to have money at his disposal following the arrival of NESV as the club's new owners.

The Anfield outfit are thought to have a transfer wishlist of 'five or six' players for the opening month of 2011, and Dos Santos could be one of the players on the Liverpool radar.

Whether Harry Redknapp would be willing to sell to a Premier League rival is unclear, but Liverpool will first have to concern themselves with Genoa as the Serie 'A' outfit look to intensify their interest this month.