Reds close in on Maxi Rodriguez

LIVERPOOL were today edging closer to concluding a deal for Maxi Rodriguez.

Though there are a number of clubs monitoring the Atletico Madrid winger, including Argentina side Boca Juniors, Liverpool are confident they hold the aces.

Rodriguez is understood to be keen to link up with his close friends Javier Mascherano and Fernando Torres and has also indicated a desire to play in the Premier League.

Discussions are on-going with the Argentina international but the player's agent, Jurgen Milewksi, has revealed the chances of Rodriguez joining the Reds are "high".

Provided there are no hitches, the 29-year-old's arrival could be concluded before the weekend, raising the possibility of his inclusion in the squad to face Tottenham.

But as Rafa Benitez prepares to bring out the welcome mat for Rodriguez, he is on the verge of waving goodbye to Andriy Voronin and Andrea Dossena.

Voronin, who has been absent from Liverpool's squad since an erratic performance against Lyon on November 4, was due in Russia today for talks with Dinamo Moscow.

CSKA Moscow have also expressed an interest in the Ukrainian and his imminent departure – a deal could happen within 48 hours – will open the door for Rodriguez.

Benitez is to cut his losses on Dossena, as a number of Serie A club, including Napoli, are courting the Italian left-back.

Reports in Italy suggested last night that Napoli sporting director Riccardo Bigon has flown to Merseyside to try and thrash out a deal and though there is no official word from the Reds, it’s highly likely Dossena will soon be on his way.

Jamie Carragher, meanwhile, has hailed Stephen Darby’s encouraging performance at Reading and believes the 21-year-old has given himself the chance of lining up alongside him in the future.

Darby was Man-of-the-Match at The Madejski Stadium and Carragher – who hopes Liverpool can launch a push to Wembley by winning the replay with Reading tomorrow week – was thrilled with his efforts.

"It's very important to us,” said Carragher. “We set out at the start of every year looking to win trophies; the Champions League and the League are out of our grasp, so now the FA Cup is even more important.

"It was a tough game but Stephen did very well, everyone was very pleased for him. He played very against Fiorentina and it was just unfortunate what happened at the end. I didn’t want that to be his last game for us.

"But he's got character. He’s a good player and such a nice lad. It’s easy to play well when the team is playing well, so to come through in those circumstances and play well was very satisfying to see. Credit to the manager for playing him, too.”

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