Mascherano and Dossena to leave Liverpool in January?

Dossena is desperate to leave

There are a couple of Liverpool transfer stories out today, and the big one is the report in the News of the World. They say that Barcelona are still very keen on persuading Rafael Benitez to finally let Mascherano move to Spain, and think that Benitez will agree to a deal.

Many people believe that the Argentinian’s poor performances this season are due to the fact that he was unsettled by the approaches from Barcelona in the summer, and it looks like they haven’t given up.

The NOTW reckons that Benitez will be willing to let him go this time, as he is still desperate to get another striker to take some of the pressure of Fernando Torres, and with an expected £20m windfall from Mascherano he will be free to invest it all on another hitman.

The second bit of transfer news is from Andrea Dossena, who has been saying for ages that he is desperate for a move back to Italy, and it would be a surprise if Benitez will put up with his moaning much longer.

Today he said: “I know that three big Serie A clubs – Napoli, Juventus and Milan – are looking at me,”

“In August they just made other choices. I was very close to going to Juventus in the summer but they signed Fabio Grosso.

“I am now worried I will miss the World Cup.”

Surely it is only a matter of time before Benitez cahes in on Dossena, whose performances have never quite lived up to the billing as one of Italy’s best young defenders.

But he admitted that it was probably his own fault that Benitez didn’t pick him very often.

“I’m not disappointed with the treatment I’ve had,” he added.

“I know how things work and I’ve always behaved correctly. Benitez chooses the line-up, and I’m paid to respect his choices.

“In truth I am a little bit unhappy with my performances. They have not seen the ‘real’ Dossena at Anfield.”