Mascherano tells Hodgson he wants to go

Posted Tuesday, July 27, 2010 by theguardian.com

Liverpool are expected to demand at least £25m for their midfield enforcer and Argentina captain Javier Mascherano.

Javier Mascherano returned to pre-season training at Liverpool yesterday, accompanied by his agent, and told Roy Hodgson that he wants to leave Anfield.

The midfielder's request will have come as little surprise to the manager. Rafael Benítez, Hodgson's predecessor at Liverpool, is trying to sign the Argentinian for Internazionale and Mascherano has spent several weeks agitating for a transfer. His agent, Walter Tamer, has stated that it would be a "dream" for his client to move to San Siro.

Mascherano, who has been unsettled at Anfield for some time, missed Liverpool's pre-season training camp because he was given time to recover from the World Cup. Hodgson is expected to demand at least £25m for the 26-year-old, who was Argentina's captain in South Africa.

Hodgson is more concerned about the possibility that Fernando Torres could also leave the club, with Chelsea leading the hunt and Manchester City having renewed their interest since Benítez's departure for Inter.

Jamie Carragher, though, believes the Spain striker, currently recovering from a groin injury he suffered in the closing minutes of the World Cup final, will join Steven Gerrard in deciding to be part of the Hodgson era. "I'm sure that Steven Gerrard and Fernando Torres will still be involved at the club next season," the defender told Zoo magazine. "If they are, then the aim for Liverpool must be to get back into the Champions League."

They finished seventh in the Premier League last season and the 32-year-old said: "Liverpool aren't a club like Real Madrid, who can just throw £100m at it if we don't win the title. For clubs like Real Madrid and Inter, it's a disaster if they don't win the league, so they go out and spend big money on new players. Liverpool can't do that – we have to build.

"Next season, rather than thinking too much about the title, we have to concentrate on getting back into the top four. It's a rebuilding process again and hopefully we can get ourselves right up there."

A key position for Liverpool to fill is left-back – Fábio Aurélio was released at the end of his contract and Emiliano Insúa is on the verge of joining Fiorentina – during a period of financial hardship that, in the words of Carragher, has shrouded the club in "a lot negativity and it's been like that for a while".

But the club denied they were set to sign Royston Drenthe from Real Madrid after the Dutchman posted a message attributed to his Facebook page saying a move to Anfield was imminent. "I will soon be joining Liverpool," the message says. "I hope I will have a good season with my new club."

Drenthe is among the players José Mourinho would allow to leave the Bernabéu. The former Holland Under-21 international, who can play as a full-back or winger, is a close friend of Liverpool's Ryan Babel but Hodgson does not appear to regard him as the solution at left-back. He has failed to fulfil the potential of his early years at Feyenoord since a €14m move to Madrid three seasons ago, at the age of 20.

Liverpool's new signing Milan Jovanovic says the players are keen to get the season started on Thursday, when they play a Europa League qualifier against Rabotnicki in Macedonia. "I know we will be ready to play in Europe," he said. "I am really looking forward to it. For all players all over the world, you have to be proud when Liverpool come for you."