Liverpool are in talks with Internazionale over the possible sale of Javier Mascherano after the Italian club made an approach for the midfielder. Roy Hodgson is believed to be ready to sell the Argentina captain at the right price to raise funds, after warning Liverpool supporters that several more signings are needed to lift the "doom and gloom" that enveloped the club last season.
Liverpool want at least £25m for Mascherano, who has made no secret of his desire to move to Inter and link up again with Rafael Benítez, Hodgson's predecessor as manager at Anfield. Mascherano's agent, Walter Tamer, recently said it was his client's "dream" to join the Serie A club and the approach had been anticipated.
Mascherano has been disillusioned at Liverpool for some time, having seen Benítez block a proposed move to Barcelona last summer. Hodgson reported last week that the 26-year-old had not responded to his telephone or text messages while on holiday following the World Cup. He had been keen to discuss the player's future.
The manager will have only a modest amount to spend on transfers unless he increases that budget through sales, meaning Mascherano's departure could suit both parties. Hodgson's funds look set to be swelled by the sale to Olympiakos of Albert Riera, who played no part in tonight's 0-0 draw with Grasshopper in a friendly in Switzerland because talks with the Greek club are ongoing.
The Olympiakos manager, Ewald Lienen, is expecting to sign the winger by the end of the week. "Unless there is a major surprise then he will be our player," he said.
One target for Hodgson could be Manchester City's Wayne Bridge. City look set to bring in Serbia's Aleksandar Kolarov from Lazio to play at left-back and Liverpool will be without a senior player in that position if, as expected, Emiliano Insúa moves to Fiorentina.
Today Hodgson urged the fans to remain realistic about Liverpool's prospects as he picks up the pieces from Benítez's final season. He acknowledged it would take much more than the arrival of Joe Cole to spark a turn in fortune and said he would never want to "dupe" supporters into believing "everything was rosy" because of one signing.
Liverpool seventh in the Premier League last term and Hodgson "You don't change doom and gloom, you don't change disenchantment with a signing or two The Liverpool supporters know that I can't stand in front of a television camera and put right some disenchantment that has been going on for several years now with a couple of words or by signing a football player. All we can hope to persuade them is that we are going to be on the right track. We are trying to get things right again.
"I can assure [the Liverpool fans] we'll make plenty of efforts on the field, and I'll hope to dispel the doom and disenchantment in that way, but it's not going to be an overnight thing. Unfortunately, last season was a very disappointing season for the club in every respect, culminating in a popular manager leaving the club – you don't dispel that with a couple of signings and I wouldn't ever want to try and dupe the Liverpool public by telling them all is rosy now because Joe Cole is signing. There is a lot more work to do and there are a lot more players needed."
Progress is already being made on that front. Having already recruited the Serbia international Milan Jovanovic and Cole on free transfers, Liverpool today completed their third signing of the summer when Danny Wilson joined from Rangers in a deal worth £2m initially and up to a further £3m in add-ons. The 18-year-old central defender, who won the Scottish Football Association and Football Writers' Young Player of the Year award last season, described the move as a "massive challenge" after passing a medical and signing a three-year contract at Anfield.
Hodgson's desire to strengthen the squad further is likely to lead to a number of players on the periphery moving on, with the right-back Philipp Degen the latest to be told that he has no future at Anfield. The Switzerland right-back made only three league starts following his arrival from Borussia Dortmund two years ago. "We have had an amicable conversation with Philipp and he wants to play football," Hodgson said. "We won't stand in his way and he is free to look for another club."
Liverpool remain on the look-out for new owners with Hodgson admitting that Martin Broughton, the club's chairman, is "trying desperately to find the right people" to provide much-needed new investment. In the meantime, the Liverpool manager has urged supporters to remain patient and be sensible with their demands for success. "I can only hope that the people who watch us are aware of the situation and that they've got their feet on the ground like we've all got our feet on the ground, and that they'll give us credit if we deserve any for the efforts we make on the field," Hodgson said.