Hodgson swoops for Defour

As Inter Milan prepare their first bid for unsettled Liverpool midfielder Javier Mascherano, manager Roy Hodgson has stepped up the search for his replacement.

The Liverpool boss was due to watch Standard Liege midfielder Steven Defour in Belgium last night and is considering a £10million bid for a player who is also a target for Manchester United.

So keen are United on the 22-year-old Belgium international that manager Alex Ferguson wrote him a letter of encouragement when he broke his foot last year and has since kept an eye on his year-long recovery.

With Mascherano expressing his desire to leave Anfield, Hodgson and the Liverpool board will not stand in his way but they are determined not to sell him on the cheap to former boss Rafael Benitez.

The Spaniard and his new employers are prepare for a long fight for the Argentina captain, valued at £25m by Liverpool, and are ready to offer former Portsmouth midfielder Sulley Muntari as part of their first offer this week.

But the Ghana international, a virtual ever-present at Inter under Jose Mourinho, is unlikely to want to quit the San Siro, while Hodgson has his eyes on other options in any case.

Aston Villa's Stiliyan Petrov is on his radar, along with Juventus midfielder Christian Poulsen.

Another option for Hodgson is to redeploy Brazil midfielder Lucas Leiva, who was recalled for his country this week by new coach Mano Menezes.

He has been captain in Steven Gerrard's absence for all three games of Hodgson's tenure, including Thursday's Europa League triumph in Macedonia.

While Hodgson looks at alternatives to Mascherano, Lucas says he is ready to step into his shoes and fight for the right to keep the position over the coming season.

Lucas said: "Of course we all hope Javier stays because he is such a good player but we'll just have to wait and see over that.

"I'm not the same player as Javier, we have different styles, but I am ready to play and to impress and do whatever job the manager needs from me.

"I think I did well last season but I think in this one I can do even better wherever I play. I know I am able to play the role Javier does because last season I played a few games when he was at right back.

"I've got no problem with doing that job - I know I can do it if that is what the manager wants."

Lucas will hand over the armband when Gerrard returns to the side. England's World Cup skipper is expected to play at least 45 minutes in a friendly against Borussia Moenchengladbach in Germany tomorrow, along with Joe Cole, Jamie Carragher and Glen Johnson.

It has taken Lucas some time to be accepted at Anfield but his solid start to preseason has not gone unnoticed by Hodgson, who has only worked with a threadbare squad so far.

Lucas added: "I know there are a lot of senior players in front of me but I hope I did a good job and that I can stay in the team as well.

"If everyone's back for the second leg I'm sure we will be even better. There is a lot of competition for places, but that can only be good for Liverpool and what we want to do this season.

"We are expecting positive things this season. We've got good players who have come, others who are to come back, and hopefully this year will be a lot better than last."

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