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• Anfield club are short of options in full-back positions
• Villa expected to hold out for £3.5m for 31-year-old

Liverpool have made a surprise move for the Aston Villa full-back Luke Young. Roy Hodgson, the Liverpool manager, tried to sign Young earlier this year when he was in charge of Fulham and he has now rekindled his interest in the former England international. Liverpool have agreed a £2.5m fee for a player who has been told he is surplus to requirements at Villa Park.

Although Hodgson’s pursuit of Young might raise a few eyebrows among Liverpool supporters, the 31-year-old is able to operate in both full-back positions and was asked to represent England as recently as last November, when Fabio Capello failed to persuade the defender to reverse the decision he made earlier that year to retire from international football with seven caps to his name. He would also increase Liverpool’s quota of homegrown players to comply with the new Premier League rule.

Liverpool are also short of options in the full-back positions because Emiliano Insúa is set to join Fiorentina and Fábio Aurélio has left the club on a free transfer. Philipp Degen, the Switzerland right-back, has also been told that he can look for another club after meeting with Hodgson last week.

Villa have been keen to offload Young as he is one of the club’s higher earners and has three years remaining on his contract. Sunderland had also expressed an interest in signing Young this summer but were unable to match his personal terms.

Villa’s decision to make Young available for transfer came as a disappointment to many of the club’s supporters. Having joined Villa from Middlesbrough in a £5.5m deal two years ago, Young performed well in his first season but his start to the following campaign was curtailed through a combination of injury and personal tragedy, when Andre, his 17-year-old half-brother, was found dead on holiday.

Young eventually came back into the Villa side but made only 14 Premier League starts and was ultimately unable to dislodge Carlos Cuéllar, an orthodox central defender, from the right-back position. He remained a popular figure among the Villa supporters, however, and was given a standing ovation when he appeared as a substitute against Blackburn Rovers in the final match of the season.

LiverpoolAston VillaTransfer windowStuart Jamesguardian.co.uk

• Internazionale the likely destination for Argentina midfielder
• Hodgson plays down fears over Fernando Torres exit

Javier Mascherano wants to leave Liverpool, the club’s manager Roy Hodgson has confirmed. Hodgson has been speaking to the Reds’ key players since taking over from Rafael Benítez at Anfield and while Steven Gerrard has indicated he wants to stay, the Argentina captain Mascherano is keen to move on, with his preferred destination a reunion with Benítez at Internazionale.

Hodgson has had more positive news from the Spain striker Fernando Torres, who has confirmed his intention to return to the club on Monday and to remain at Anfield.

“Yes, he wants to leave the club,” confirmed Hodgson when asked about Mascherano. “He has made that perfectly clear. I think he wanted to leave a year ago. He wants to leave now but he is contracted to Liverpool so whether he leaves or not will be our decision.

“He is a Liverpool player and will continue to be treated as a Liverpool player until such a day arrives when he no longer is. The mere fact that the player is a little bit unhappy with his situation and would prefer to leave does not necessarily mean that he will do.

“It disappoints me but it is not unusual. I think in every club throughout the world there are players playing in the team who would prefer to leave. Some are allowed to, some are not allowed to. Mascherano is a Liverpool player with a two-year contract. I expect him to honour that contract until the day comes when the club decides to accept an offer for his services.”

Recent speculation suggested Torres was keen to play Champions League football this season and was considering his options. Hodgson said that was not the message the club had received from the Spain striker.

“As far as I know he is looking forward to coming back here; he is back on Monday,” he said. “He is enjoying a holiday – a well-deserved break as he has not had one for three years. He is spending a lot of time with his family, keeping a low profile and as far as I know he is not really speaking to anyone.

“But he has told us that he is looking forward to Monday, looking forward to getting back to work and looking forward to playing for Liverpool next season. That is what I know so other reports, I would suggest, are erroneous.”

Liverpoolguardian.co.uk

• Argentina midfielder keen to join Internazionale
• Mascherano set to be reunited with Rafael Benítez

Javier Mascherano returned to pre-season training at Liverpool yesterday, accompanied by his agent, and told Roy Hodgson that he wants to leave Anfield.

The midfielder’s request will have come as little surprise to the manager. Rafael Benítez, Hodgson’s predecessor at Liverpool, is trying to sign the Argentinian for Internazionale and Mascherano has spent several weeks agitating for a transfer. His agent, Walter Tamer, has stated that it would be a “dream” for his client to move to San Siro.

Mascherano, who has been unsettled at Anfield for some time, missed Liverpool’s pre-season training camp because he was given time to recover from the World Cup. Hodgson is expected to demand at least £25m for the 26-year-old, who was Argentina’s captain in South Africa.

Hodgson is more concerned about the possibility that Fernando Torres could also leave the club, with Chelsea leading the hunt and Manchester City having renewed their interest since Benítez’s departure for Inter.

Jamie Carragher, though, believes the Spain striker, currently recovering from a groin injury he suffered in the closing minutes of the World Cup final, will join Steven Gerrard in deciding to be part of the Hodgson era. “I’m sure that Steven Gerrard and Fernando Torres will still be involved at the club next season,” the defender told Zoo magazine. “If they are, then the aim for Liverpool must be to get back into the Champions League.”

They finished seventh in the Premier League last season and the 32-year-old said: “Liverpool aren’t a club like Real Madrid, who can just throw £100m at it if we don’t win the title. For clubs like Real Madrid and Inter, it’s a disaster if they don’t win the league, so they go out and spend big money on new players. Liverpool can’t do that – we have to build.

“Next season, rather than thinking too much about the title, we have to concentrate on getting back into the top four. It’s a rebuilding process again and hopefully we can get ourselves right up there.”

A key position for Liverpool to fill is left-back – Fábio Aurélio was released at the end of his contract and Emiliano Insúa is on the verge of joining Fiorentina – during a period of financial hardship that, in the words of Carragher, has shrouded the club in “a lot negativity and it’s been like that for a while”.

But the club denied they were set to sign Royston Drenthe from Real Madrid after the Dutchman posted a message attributed to his Facebook page saying a move to Anfield was imminent. “I will soon be joining Liverpool,” the message says. “I hope I will have a good season with my new club.”

Drenthe is among the players José Mourinho would allow to leave the Bernabéu. The former Holland Under-21 international, who can play as a full-back or winger, is a close friend of Liverpool’s Ryan Babel but Hodgson does not appear to regard him as the solution at left-back. He has failed to fulfil the potential of his early years at Feyenoord since a €14m move to Madrid three seasons ago, at the age of 20.

Liverpool’s new signing Milan Jovanovic says the players are keen to get the season started on Thursday, when they play a Europa League qualifier against Rabotnicki in Macedonia. “I know we will be ready to play in Europe,” he said. “I am really looking forward to it. For all players all over the world, you have to be proud when Liverpool come for you.”

LiverpoolFernando TorresJamie CarragherTransfer windowDaniel Taylorguardian.co.uk