Mohamed Sissoko is a fall out boy at Liverpool but the 22-year old Malian international certainly seems to be in hot demand elsewhere. The Italian papers have been all over him linking him to a January move to Italian giants Juventus and, according to this Sky Sports report, now the Spanish club Valencia have joined in the race to acquire the apparently precious signature of the talented but volatile defensive midfielder.
Valencia manager Ronald Koeman has expressed interest in Sissoko and is reported to be keen on importing the player back to the Mestalla. Sissoko was signed by Liverpool from Valencia in 2005 and although the player impressed in his first two season at Anfield, he has fallen out with the club after criticizing manager Rafael Benitez for his rotation policy.
The arrival of Javier Mascherano, another young defensive medio, in January last year has pushed Sissoko to the sidelines and the player has been restricted to a handful of starts so far this season. Sissoko earlier revealed that he is close to signing a deal with Juventus and would fly over to Turin inside this month and now Valencia have joined in the race.
Valencia are 7th in La Liga at the moment and while all dreams of the domestic title have been crushed, there is yet a flicker of hope that they might just clinch a UEFA Champions League spot. Koeman made his first January signing last week when he picked up Ever Banega from River Plate and is ready to splash out money to get a defensive midfielder. Last month, Koeman decided to dump veteran anchorman in midfield David Albelda and is ready to replace him with Sissoko.