Target man: Lennon is top of Liverpool's shopping
list
Rafa Benitez will launch a £30million spending spree
this summer and commit even more to securing the long-term futures
of Steven Gerrard and Fernando Torres.
Liverpool's
Spanish manager will waste no time exercising his new power over
transfer dealings and is already lining up potential signings after
being set a budget that includes money recouped from Robbie Keane's
return to Tottenham in January.
Eager to strengthen in midfield and up front, he remains keen on
Aston Villa anchorman Gareth Barry and Tottenham winger Aaron
Lennon and is also pursuing targets in Spain.
After ending uncertainty over his own position by signing a
five-year deal on Wednesday, he will swiftly turn his attention to
negotiating new contracts for a lengthy list of players, headed by
Gerrard and Torres.
Not giving up: Liverpool will be after Barry for a
second summer in a row
The £21m former Atletico Madrid striker, who arrived on a
six-year deal worth £70,000 a week in 2007, is on course for a
12-month extension and weekly pay rise to £90,000. Jamie Carragher,
Dirk Kuyt, Daniel Agger and Alvaro Arbeloa are also in line for
contract renewals.
Then Benitez will address areas that need improving at the end
of the season. With his own position resolved, he feels in a
stronger position to go for the calibre of player needed to break
down packed defences at Anfield.
There were even assurances about the club's ownership, with Tom
Hicks insisting he would still be in charge when Benitez's new
contract ends.
Hicks and co-owner George Gillett have to refinance more than
£300m worth of loans by July, but the Texan was in typically
defiant mood as he vowed to meet the deadline and raise the funds
needed for a planned new stadium at Stanley Park.
'Rafa is going to be here for the next five years, and I know I
am, too,' he said. 'I think George will be here for the next five
years, although I cannot speak for him. We want to be here when the
new stadium opens, because we want to build that sucker.'
Hicks revealed head-hunting firms were being consulted over a
replacement for chief executive Rick Parry.
