Liverpool in the hunt for Young

Liverpool are poised to land Aston Villa full-back Luke Young.

Villa boss Martin O'Neill revealed last night that: "There has been an offer from a football club, which Luke is mulling over."

And sources at Anfield confirmed today the Reds are in the hunt for the former England international.

Young has been left out of the Villa squad which flew to Portugal today for a pre-season tournament.

Usually a right-back, Young can also operate at left-back - a position Roy Hodgson is desperately short of options in following the departure of Fabio Aurelio and the possible sale of Emiliano Insua.

Young, however, publicly expressed his frustration at being deployed at left-back at Villa Park during an absence through injury of Wilfrid Bouma.

During the unveiling of new signings Joe Cole, Milan Jovanovic and Danny Wilson yesterday, manager Roy Hodgson said: "We're still interested in some other players so I hope that this won't be the last of our signings.

"The aim of the board, chief executive Christian Purslow and everyone at the club is to try to make this squad as competitive as possible.

"If we can sign several more players to make the squad stronger then that will also help but we need to make the point that it's a new start and a new dawn for the club."

Young is 31 and joined Villa from Middlesbrough in 2008. He has made over 50 appearances for the club during his two years in Midlands and has seven England caps to his name.

But while Young could arrive at Anfield, Emiliano Insua is in danger of pricing himself out of a move to Fiorentina.

Liverpool have agreed a £5m fee with the Serie A club, but the player's wage demands mean the switch could fall through.

Fiorentina sporting director, Pantaleo Corvino, warned: "We have an agreement with the English club, but we have to find an understanding with the player in terms of wages.

"We cannot guarantee him the figures that he gets at Liverpool."

Insua was back at Melwood yesterday along with compatriots Maxi Rodriguez and Javier Mascherano.

Spanish side Real Sociedad are also ready to try and prise striker Dani Pacheco from the Reds.

Pacheco has shot to prominence while starring for his country in the UEFA Under-19 European Championships in France.

The 19-year-old netted his fourth goal yesterday in helping Spain defeat England 3-1 in their semi-final clash.

Sociedad chairman Jokin Aperribay said: "Certainly Real Socieded are interested in Pacheco."

This story has been reproduced from today's media. It does not necessarily represent the position of Liverpool Football Club.