Rafa Benitez will hold crunch talks with Liverpool chairman
Martin Broughton today with his tenure as manager in the balance
and the club reeling from Chelsea's bold move for Fernando
Torres.
As Chelsea prepare to offer £70million for Liverpool's star
striker, Benitez will meet Broughton in London and demand written
assurances that all money raised from player sales can be used to
sign new ones.
Hot shot: Chelsea and Manchester City are chasing
Liverpool's Fernando Torres
Benitez believed he had been given such a guarantee when he
signed his new contract last year, but monies from sales have since
been used to service the club's debts.
Unfortunately, Broughton is unlikely to be able to give
50-year-old Benitez the promise he is seeking, due to the
chairman's non-executive role and the club's delicate financial
state. That will frustrate Benitez further and push him into a
corner over his future, which is still very uncertain with Juventus
waiting for him to decide if he is keen to move to Turin at the end
of the season.
Privately, Chelsea are surprised that their discreet move for
Torres has become public. Yet the rumbling confusion over Benitez's
future has encouraged them to believe they can be successful in
their battle with Manchester City for the 26-year-old rated the
world's best striker.
The divide between Benitez and the club's hierarchy seems to be
growing wider with every day and the stark realisation that the
talismanic Torres could be sold has brought the club's dramatic
slide into sharp focus.
Juventus are waiting patiently for an answer on their four-year
contract offer for Benitez, but the Spaniard is believed to have
reservations about taking on the challenge in Turin with the club
in such a state of transition. However, the sale of Torres would
leave Liverpool in a similar situation and most probably turn
dwindling public support against the manager.
Show and tell: Rafa Benitez will hold crunch talks with
Liverpool chairman Martin Broughton
If, as seems likely, Benitez does depart, the presence of Kop
idol Kenny Dalglish as an intermin manager will at least appease
fans as the club searches for a suitable replacement. However, the
pressure will be on for them to make giant str ides quickly after
such a disappointing season on all fronts.
The sale of the club is paramount to those changes, but the
project Benitez began in 2004 seems no closer to completion.
Although Liverpool have made plans to sign new players, the extent
of that recruitment is difficult for them to predict.
The club have held preliminary talks with Real Madrid about
Rafael van der Vaart and were linked with Real's Royston Drenthe
and Guti yesterday, but any such moves are likely to be shelved
until Benitez and Torres final ise their futures. Dutchman Drenthe
has potential but Guti - although a free transfer - would be
unlikely.
Fiorentina have expressed an interest in Liverpool midfielder
Alberto Aquilani, although his agent Franco Zavaglia said: 'I don't
think there is anything concrete. It is still too early to tell if
a deal is possible.
'First of all, the priority is to finish the season well. Then
we will know what will be the future at Liverpool.'