Once again Liverpool are in the news for the wrong reason. The January transfer window has already slammed shut but the future of the Reds’ Argentine international midfielder Javier Mascherano remains unresolved. The 23-year old is currently on loan that expires at the end of the season when he will be come a free agent.
Juventus are in the running to lure the player’s owner MSI to agree to their offer but Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez is confident that the player will ultimately stay at Anfield. Goal.com quotes the gaffer as saying that although the situation in hanging by a thread, the club is doing all it can to alter it and sign the player on a permanent basis.
Rafa says:
He can still play with us, it’s not a problem, and we are trying to clinch the deal” said the Liverpool manager I’ve said before and I’ll say it again, I am confident he will stay with us. He’s proved he is a very good professional from the first day, his commitment was fantastic. The supporters know he is a great professional and a good player for us. I don’t know about the figures and the contract, but it is clear this is a good player and the club is working hard to progress. The owners want to improve the squad, it is not about me or anyone else, it is about the club.
Actually the problem is with the club’s American co-owners George Gillett and Tom Hicks. MSI wants around £17 million for the player but the American duo is reportedly disinclined to trickle the amount into the hands of Rafa Benitez to sign the player. Should indeed Mascherano not sign a new contract with Liverpool in the summer, then Liverpool will lose one of the best players they have in the squad, a player who also happens to be the second best defensive midfielder in the world.