Bargain buys hard to find at Liverpool

Oliver Kay

Rafael Benítez remains in the dark about how much money Liverpool will have to spend this summer because of the lingering uncertainty over the club's ownership, but he hopes to generate more than £25million with an end-of-season clear-out. He is also prepared to listen to offers for Xabi Alonso to raise a further £16million to make up any shortfall in his spending plans.
Benítez made clear yesterday that Peter Crouch is available for transfer for £15 million and that John Arne Riise would also be allowed to leave Anfield for the right price, with both players having a little more than a year remaining on their contracts.
Scott Carson, who is on loan to Aston Villa, will also be sold - with Benítez eager to use him as a makeweight in a deal to sign Gareth Barry from the Midlands club - while Harry Kewell will be released when his contract expires on June 30, but there will be consternation among many Liverpool supporters at the idea of selling Alonso, particularly if such a deal is forced because of a lack of funding owing to the continuing tension between Tom Hicks and George Gillett Jr, the club's American owners.
Liverpool spent heavily on new players last summer, notably on Fernando Torres and Ryan Babel, and, having since signed Martin Skrtel and completed the permanent acquisition of Javier Mascherano in an £18million deal, Benítez has been given only vague indications of the funds that will be made available to him this summer.
Hicks has promised that he will support the pursuit of Barry and has approved the signing of Philip Degen, the Switzerland full back, on a free transfer from Borussia Dortmund, but it has emerged that Barry may be the only “headline” signing of the summer, unless Benítez is prepared to raise additional funds .
One player who seems certain to be on his way out of Anfield is Crouch, the England forward, even though Benítez informed clubs such as Villa and Portsmouth yesterday that the asking price would be £15million for a player who has started only nine Premier League matches this season and will be available on a free transfer when his contract expires in June 2009.
“Peter wants to play every week and if we receive a very good offer - and by that I mean £15million - we will consider it,” the Liverpool manager said. “I'm reading about £8million, but if we only receive that I would rather keep the player. He is a good player, so it's not a problem me [to keep him for the final year of his contract]. He is also an English player, which is important when you think about the market.”
Riise is also available, having lost his place at left back, with Benítez likely to take another look at Emiliano Insua, the young Argentinian, away to Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday. “He has one year left on his contract and we know there are some clubs interested in him. We will wait until the end of the season and try to do the best for him and the best for us,” Benítez said.
Benítez is confident of signing Barry and was dismissive yesterday of criticism from Martin O'Neill, the Villa manager. O'Neill called Liverpool's initial £10million bid “disrespectful” and “very disruptive”, but Benítez revealed that he has had a dialogue with O'Neill for almost three weeks.
Sammy Lee, the former Liverpool player and coach, could be in line to return to Anfield after his brief spell in charge of Bolton Wanderers. The 49-year-old is in regular contact with Benítez and is considered a prime candidate for a senior role on the coaching staff next season after Alex Miller, the first-team coach, announced that he was leaving Anfield with immediate effect to take over as coach of JEF United Cheba, the Japanese club.