Peter Crouch has put a question-mark over his long-term future at
Liverpool by stalling on a new contract.
Crouch, who will be available for England against Russia on
Wednesday after being suspended for last night's qualifier with
Israel, has been offered a new three-year deal by Rafa
Benitez.
But he will wait until January before committing himself after
being frustrated at his lack of first-team opportunities this
season. The 6ft 7in striker has been relegated to fourth-choice
striker and been left out of the first-team squad in three of their
four Premier League matches.
If Liverpool managed to win their first title since 1990 but his
shortage of games continued, he could miss out on a championship
medal. He also fears that his place in the England set-up would be
in jeopardy if he continues to be frozen out of the majority of big
games for his club.
Benitez has a good relationship with the striker he signed for £7
million in 2005 and still sees him as a valuable stand-in. He also
knows that a long-term deal would push up the transfer price if
Liverpool ever decided to sell.
But Crouch, 26, who has 18 months of his current deal to run, is
prepared to play a waiting game, with a number of clubs such as
Manchester City and Juventus monitoring the situation. Ideally, the
striker would like to win back a regular place at Anfield but that
has become harder since the arrivals of Fernando Torres and Andriy
Voronin.
