Liverpool boss Rafa Benitez is confident Javier Mascherano will
be allowed to join the club.
The Reds are looking to sign Mascherano on loan from West Ham
despite the fact the Argentine has already played for two clubs in
the past 12 months.
Fifa rules permit any player turning out for more than two clubs
over a one-year period between 1st July and 30th June the following
year, but Liverpool have asked Fifa for special dispensation to
allow the move to happen.
Liverpool have agreed a deal with West Ham and have held talks with
the player about a move to West Ham.
Benitez remains hopeful that Fifa will agree to let the defensive
midfielder join Liverpool even after the transfer window closes on
Wednesday.
"We are waiting for Fifa to make a decision, but even if that does
not come before the deadline, I believe he will still be able to
join us," said Benitez.
"I hope he will join us, he has great experience.
"We know the rule says he cannot play for three clubs, but he is
unable to play at West Ham and we must take into consideration the
law, and the law is more important than the rules.
"He is unable to work at the moment, nobody can say you cannot
work."
Benitez has held a long-term interest in Mascherano and he believes
he would be a good addition to his squad.
"We were aware of the player when he was at River Plate, he was in
the national team at 18," said Benitez."There is no doubt about the
quality of the player.
"He played well in the World Cup and he is a great professional
with talent and quality.
"We have good midfielders in Alonso, Gerrard, Sissoko and Zenden,
but the only holding midfielder is Alonso and the idea is to bring
Mascherano here to put pressure on in that role.
"If we sign him it will be on loan for one and a half years, at
least. He is a good option and has the character and ability to do
well in the Premiership.
"We have an agreement, but we must wait for the Fifa decision. We
hope that will come in the next two days, but if it does not we
still believe we will be able to sign him.
"We are doing our best as a club to sort this out. Fifa need to do
something before January 31. But if they do not, I still feel we
can achieve what we want.
"We talked to West Ham and had permission to talk to Mascherano,
that says that he is not likely to play for them again.
"They used Tevez because they needed strikers, but they had other
midfield players with different styles, that made it
difficult."
Liverpool face Mascherano's West Ham on Tuesday night and Benitez
is expecting a tough test
"West Ham players should be more motivated with a new manager,"
added Benitez.
"When a team changes a manager, they normally win the first game
because everyone wants to impress, then the situation can return to
what it was like before.
"We need to win the game before talking about the future and how
far we are behind Chelsea.
"We know how important this game is and if we can beat Everton as
well it will be six points, and that could make a big
difference.
"This stage of the season is very important for us. We have
difficult games with Manchester United and Arsenal still to come
here, but if we can win some games in a row now it will make us
closer to the top as the season comes to an end."