Benitez considers bidding for Heinze

Jun 30 2007 by Nick Smith, Liverpool Daily Post

RAFAEL BENITEZ is weighing up a dramatic bid for Manchester United left-back Gabriel Heinze.

The LIverpool manager has been alerted by speculation linking the Argentine international with a move to Spain, with Real Madrid and Barcelona ready to table bids for the defender United bought for £6.9million from Paris St Germain three years ago.

Heinze, 29, could face fighting a losing battle for United’s left-back slot with Patrice Evra next season and although he can also play in the centre, Sir Alex Ferguson’s squad is adequately covered in that area.

But it’s this versatility that has attracted Benitez to the possibility of signing Heinze, who admits he will wait until the end of the current Copa America competition before deciding on his future.

In terms of transfer funds, Benitez is hoping to complete the sale of Djibril Cisse this weekend as he closes in on raising a club record fee for Fernando Torres.

Cisse’s agent Ranko Stojic insists that the striker, who is Liverpool’s current record buy, will snub interest from Bolton, West Ham and Portsmouth to make his move to Marseille permanent.

Stojic said: “Marseille is definitely the choice for Djibril. There are some details to sort out between Liverpool and Marseille but I think it will happen soon.

“The Marseille option is the best choice for Djibril because of the Champions League. West Ham, Bolton and Portsmouth I understand are very, very good clubs but Djibril wants to play in the top level of European competition next season.

“I think it will be a good deal for everybody.”

The money, set to be in the region of £6million, will help Liverpool eclipse the £14million Auxerre received for Cisse in 2004 by paying close to the £27million release clause Atletico Madrid are insisting Liverpool meet to land Torres.

However, the Spaniards are still publicly refusing to acknowledge that negotiations have taken place to sell the player they brought through their youth ranks to be first team captain.

A club spokesperson said: “At the moment, there is nothing happening. There are no negotiations taking place, although things can change.

“The player is on holiday at the moment and will report back to training on July 9 for the Intertoto match (at the end of July).

“At the moment, any talk of a move is just speculation and we are still hopeful that Fernando will be with us next season.”

Benitez was also non-committal on how far down the line the deal was but, with Liverpool willing to meet the price, personal terms now appear to be the only hurdle.

Torres has expressed his desire to go to Anfield but Liverpool hope he won’t be swayed by the fierce public opinion urging him to stay.

And with Liverpool confident of completing a deal for Torres, Benitez has hinted that more signings are imminent.

He said: “You must always be excited at the start of a new season. You must also have confidence in your team and hopefully we will soon bring in the new players that we want to make the squad better.

“We are working on new signings all the time. As I’ve already said, the spine of the team is in place and now we just need to add to that.”

Liverpool have allowed defender Godwin Antwi to join League One Hartlepool on a season-long loan.

The 19-year-old Ghanaian is a regular in the reserve side and spent a successful two-month spell with Accrington last season.