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22-year-old Jeremy Menez is something of an enigma.

The Frenchman is yet to fulfill all his potential and whilst a move for the Roma man may be a risk, it would be one that could well pay off for Liverpool.

Menez is a talented player who had a good first season in Serie A but appears to have fallen out with Claudio Ranieri and would jump at the chance of a move to join Alberto Aquilani at the Merseyside outfit.

Valued at £9m, but worth far more if he manages to adapt to the Premier League, Benitez has some funds available having offloaded Andrea Dossena and Andrey Voronin already this month.

Argentina winger Maxi Rodriguez has arrived in Liverpool ahead of completing his move to Anfield from Atletico Madrid.

The 29-year-old is set to undergo a medical before signing an 18-month contract in a £1.5million deal.

Rodriguez will watch his new teammates in action in Wednesday night's FA Cup third round replay against Reading before returning to Spain to complete the deal.

Rodriguez still has to confirm his pay-off fee from Atletico Madrid however, the deal should be done within 48 hours or less.

The winger could be in Liverpool's squad for the Reds's trip to Stoke on Saturday.

The arrival comes after Andrea Dossena's £4.5million move to Napoli and Andriy Voronin's £2million switch to Russia.

Editor Matt Shawcrosse said: "Benitez should complete the signing of Rodriguez on a 18-month contract and the winger should cost them a total of £1.5million.

"The funds to buy Maxi came from the fee received by Liverpool from Dinamo Moscow and Napoli.

"Ryan Babel may also be heading for the exit door with a £10million switch to Birmingham on the cards."

Argentina winger Maxi Rodriguez has arrived in Liverpool ahead of completing his proposed switch to Anfield.

The 29-year-old Atletico Madrid player is set to undergo a medical before signing an 18-month contract in a £1.5million switch.

He will then watch his new team-mates in action in Wednesday night's FA Cup third round replay against Reading at Anfield before returning to Spain to tie up the final details of his departure.

Rodriguez, who is a close friend and international team-mate of Reds midfielder Javier Mascherano, still has to agree his pay-off from Atletico.

But it is hoped he could be back in England by the weekend to figure in Liverpool's trip to Stoke on Saturday.

Liverpool boss Rafa Benitez had hoped the deal could have been completed last week, but the former Newell's Old Boys and Espanyol player was unable to finalise the details of his departure.

His impending arrival comes after Andrea Dossena left the Reds for Napoli, while Andriy Voronin moved to Dinamo Moscow.

These deals brought in funds totalling £6.5million, and Ryan Babel's name could soon be added to the list of departures now Benitez has been assured that he can have the potential £10million fee to strengthen his squad during this transfer window.

Benitez had previously been told to wait until the summer before spending on new additions.

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

Rafa Benitez believes Nathan Eccleston is one of a crop of young stars who can have a big future at Liverpool.
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The 19-year-old signed a new contract this week after making his first-team debut against Arsenal earlier in the season.

Now Benitez is challenging him and other youngsters to work harder than ever at Melwood to force their way into his matchday squad on a regular basis.

The boss told Liverpoolfc.tv: "It is important for us to keep the young players we have now. Eccleston is doing well and he played for the first team against Arsenal and Fulham.

"He is doing well with the reserves. He has quality but the main thing is he keeps working hard because with his talent he can be a player.

"We have some good young players. We are really pleased with Emiliano Insua, Peter Gulacsi, Nabil El Zhar and other players coming from the reserves. Hopefully we'll see more of these players in the future."

Christian Purslow today insisted Liverpool would never look to cash in on their star players.

In a wide-ranging interview with the Liverpool Echo, the Reds' Managing Director dismissed weekend press speculation suggesting the likes of Fernando Torres and Steven Gerrard could be sold.

Purslow also insisted progress is being made in the search for new investment into the Club, all money raised through transfers will be handed back to the manager to spend and that the Reds remain totally committed to their new stadium project.

Here is what Christian had to say in a fascinating in-depth interview:

Christian on the suggestion star players could be sold:

The idea that we would ever wish to sell our top players is completely against the interests of this club.

In fact our key priority since the summer has been to secure our senior players on long term improved contracts, because we remain of the view that our starting eleven compares with anybody in the Premier League.

Our plan - and what we are working on - is to try and improve the team; not to be so stupid as to reduce the quality of our squad.

The suggestion in any way that we would sell players in order to pay down debt or pay money to our owners is preposterous. Neither is true. Neither is possible.

Any proceeds we generate from the sale of players can only go into our player account for the recruitment of new players.

Christian on the search for investment

It's in the public domain that the owners have been looking to bring new investors in to the club to pay down the club's existing debts - which are today about £237m - by way of issuing new shares which would dilute their shareholding in the club. That process is ongoing.

The debt we have today is obviously serviced by the club in terms of interest and bank fees and if we reduce our debt then clearly those interest charges and bank fees will reduce.

Inevitably when you run an investment process of this kind in the early stages many, many people have a look.

Much of the challenge in these processes is to sort out the serious and the real interest from people who are unlikely to make an investment.

I think it's fair to say as we now move into the New Year that we are whittling down the interest to a smaller number - maybe a handful of serious groups who are interested in investing in Liverpool. And in the coming couple of months our job is to sort those into ultimately an investor that makes sense for everyone concerned.

Provided all goes well, there is a serious possibility of new fresh investment into Liverpool Football Club within the foreseeable future.

There are no guarantees - we are operating in an environment where, as everybody knows outside football and in football, it hasn't been the most active investment market for the last 18 months. But largely because of the quality of Liverpool Football Club, both as a club and as a business, we haven't had problems in attracting interest.

However, the devil is always in the detail and in coming months our job is to get somebody over the line that makes sense for all concerned.

That could be part ownership or it could be complete ownership.

Christian on the new stadium

The stadium is absolutely central to the club's strategic development because with a new stadium comes a transformation in the financial resources of Liverpool that can be ploughed back into the core of our activity - which is our playing squad.

The good news is that all potential investors are attracted to Liverpool by the prospect of building a new stadium and participating in the transformation in the value of the club associated with that project.

Also positive is the fact that late last year, the bank market was essentially shut. It's now very much open for business and a number of banks are very interested in financing our new stadium.

However, a condition of all those banks' interest is that in the first instance, we have brought new investment into the club.

So I see it as a two step process - new investment in the next couple of months which reduces our existing debt to a very low level, to enable us then to push on with discussions with banks about financing the stadium.

It's that stadium which holds the key to us transforming our fortunes both economically and in football terms.

It's too early to name names but rest assured I want the fans to feel fully informed and when we home in on a small number of parties, subject to normal confidentiality provisions, I hope to be able to give people more of an update in the next month or two."

Christian on the season so far

Obviously the most important aspect of any club is how we are doing on the field and I don't think any of us had expected the first half of the season that we have had.

That said, I'm very confident now that the vast majority of our players are fit and well, we'll see a transformation in our results in the second half of the season.

But in terms of the business side of Liverpool, day to day things could not have gone better.

Commercially, I think the business is better than I expected and performing better than I expected.

And obviously my number one priority remains the strategic issue of bringing in new investment - and that is probably about where I would have expected it to be.

Going into the New Year I hoped that the initial process would have identified a smaller group of serious people who are interested in investing in Liverpool - and that's where we are today.

While there can be no guarantees, I am confident and optimistic that in the next couple of months one of them will be brought to fruition.

The process of bringing in new investment and reducing our current debt will create a context whereby we can seriously get back on track the stadium project.

That project remains my key priority, because it is that which holds the key to transforming the club's financial position.

The money brought in from player sales in January and which might yet be brought in will not be going to pay off debt.

It cannot and it will not.

Money we generate by selling footballers goes straight into our player account to be used to replace those players in the transfer market.

Christian's message to the fans

Don't forget, I'm a fan and I desperately want to help the club move to the next level as soon as possible.

In fact that's why I'm here - for no other reason.

While we are looking for new investment, the important thing is that we run the business as well as possible. The football and the business side must work seamlessly together in a co-ordinated way and ensure we are giving the football side of Liverpool everything it needs..

As a fan I believe we must stay behind the team, keep positive and believe that with all our star players on the pitch in the second half of the campaign we might well be looking back on a very successful end of season from where we sit today. That's my true hope and belief - we have every opportunity to do that.

Christian on the future

The overall message right now as we head into 2010 is that, slowly but surely on the strategic side, we are making progress towards finding new investment which is the key to unlocking a new stadium. And that stadium is the single event that will transform the financial prospects of Liverpool.

Meantime I hope and believe we are running our club sensibly, with a total focus on the business of Liverpool supporting our manager and the football operations.

From my perspective if we have opportunities in January to make positive changes then great. If not we will wait until summer when there's a much more active transfer market.

Inspired Italian hoping to put the past behind...

Liverpool midfielder Alberto Aquilani midfielder insists that he is feeling "reborn" after recovering from a long-term injury, and that he intends to help the Reds pick up the pieces of a shattered season.

The Merseyside giants have endured several false dawns, with the injury-plagued Italian making only five Premier League appearances so far following his big-money switch from Roma.

"I feel reborn and I want to smash the world," Aquilani is quoted by the News of the World as saying.

"It was so hard being all that time without playing.

"Believe me when I say to you that watching your team-mates training and playing while you do nothing but physiotherapy, gym exercises and routines in the swimming pool for rehabilitation is really difficult.

"But now that is over. I am fine and I just want to put it all behind me and not think about anything but playing.

"The rest will follow. If I remain in good health, I know I can play at a certain high level.

"I know I have the confidence of the manager [Rafael Benitez], the rest of the management and my new team-mates.

"I know what I am worth on a football pitch and I want to do my absolute best in a very difficult season like this for the club and the fans."

Adithya Ananth, Goal.com UK

Redknapp's Tottenham side - who were due at Anfield today before the weather intervened - are currently four points ahead of Liverpool in the battle for the final Champions League spot, but with half of the season still to play he believes Rafael Benitez's men still hold the trump cards.

"There's a long way to go yet and in my opinion Liverpool are still favourites to make the top four," he said.

"If they can keep Torres and Gerrard fit then they would be the favourites, but it's going to be close.

"Chelsea and Manchester United are certainties and Arsenal are looking strong. Then there's Liverpool, ourselves, City and Villa scrapping for fourth place. It will be tight.

"We are playing well, City are looking strong and Villa are in great form so it will be a great scrap over the remaining games."

Rafa Benitez believes midfielder Lucas Leiva has illustrated over our last three fixtures how important he is to Liverpool's future.

With Javier Mascherano suspended, Lucas - who turns 23 today - has been charged with protecting the back four as well as connecting defence with attack.

Benitez said: "Everybody with some idea about football can see that in the last three games, he has been the one controlling midfield and trying to hold the team together.

"We have a lot of players with an offensive mentality, but still Lucas was there in the middle, doing a fantastic job for the team. I was really surprised, then, to hear some people still give him criticism. Our fans have been choosing him as the man of the match, though, and that says everything.

"He is going to be a very important player for us in the future. The lads love him because he trains really well, he is always chatting, always working hard. They know he is a very good professional and a very good lad."

Lucas has played in each of Liverpool's 20 Premier League games so far, as well as the vast majority of Champions League and cup fixtures.

Benitez would like to give the Brazilian a chance to catch his breath sooner rather than later.

"Lucas is improving all the time," said the boss. "But it is obvious that if he has to play every single game, it will be really difficult because our idea is to play him sometimes but also give him a break, as we have Mascherano, Aquilani and Gerrard.

"But circumstances have meant that he has played almost every game. If we can manage the situation and we have some more players back, it will do him good if we can give him a break. It is hard to play so many games.

"If he gets that break, he will come back even better. I know he can improve so much more. When I was talking about him before he signed, I was telling people that we were signing the captain of Gremio - and he was only 19.

"That means something. You do not captain teams in Brazil at such a level at that age if you are not a strong character or someone with a very good mentality. Hopefully he will continue to grow with us."

Rafa Benitez believes hard work on the training pitch is now paying off for his back four following defensive problems earlier in the season.

The Reds have kept successive clean sheets in the league following a concerted effort to return to the defensive meanness of recent seasons.

However, Benitez thinks there is still room for improvement.

"Yes, we are definitely much better," the boss told Liverpoolfc.tv. "Still we can improve because we were really good in the last two or three seasons.

"Improving the defence needs hard work. But when you do your job every day on the pitch and in every training session, you see an improvement. That's what we're doing at the moment."

Meanwhile, Benitez admits his disappointment at the way 2009-10 has panned out so far - but the Spaniard is confident the form witnessed last term can be replicated over the coming months.

He said: "I am disappointed with the way things have gone on. We were scoring a lot of goals in some games at home, but afterwards we weren't winning - and that's the important thing. It doesn't matter if you score four or five goals against one team if you don't win the next game.

"Two or three goals changed everything in the Champions League but clearly we have to improve. We want to do that now. Everyone's ready and improving depends on us.

"We know that it's very important for us, for the fans and the club to do well. So we'll push really hard.

"We have some players coming back from injury and if we can keep the majority of the players fit then we can beat anyone. The last two wins in the league means this team is coming back."

Rafael Benitez today confirmed Javier Mascherano has resumed training at Melwood - but the boss expects to be without Glen Johnson for at least another month.

Mascherano suffered a medial ligament strain to his left knee against Portsmouth in December, but the Argentina captain is now back in training with his teammates.

And Benitez has revealed his squad is close to boasting a clean bill of health, with Albert Riera also nearing a first-team return following injury.

"Riera and Mascherano are training, and that is good. More or less the majority of the team are available," the boss told reporters at Melwood.

Meanwhile, Benitez admitted he is pleased with the progress made by Johnson as the defender continues his recovery from a tear sustained to the medial ligament in his right knee during the recent 1-0 victory over Aston Villa.

The injury forced the 25-year-old out of the FA Cup tie with Reading and the manager expects to be without his services for at least a further month, while Nabil El Zhar remains on the treatment table as he recovers from a twisted ankle.

"Glen is doing well but it's too early," said Benitez. "It's a question of one month, maybe a little bit more.

"He will carry on resting and improving."