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With the two parties now edging closer to an agreement and with a channel of communication now flowing freely again between Anfield and the Bernabeu it is looking increasingly likely that a deal will be struck in the coming days.
Benitez’s reluctance to give Alonso any more than a substitute’s appearance in the dying stages of last nights’s defeat at the hands of Espanyol was a telling sign of how close an agreement is with the Liverpool manager clearly unwilling to put the Spanish international at risk of the kind of injury that could place the deal in jeopardy.
Alonso’s presence was sorely missed, particularly in the second half as Liverpool struggled with their passing and allowed Espanyol to take full advantage.
Daniel Agger missed the game with a recurring back problem and was today due to undergo treatment at Melwood after Liverpool returned to Merseyside in the early hours of this morning.
