Benitez blow as Gonzalez work permit rejected

LIVERPOOL are considering an appeal after a work permit application for Chilean winger Mark Gonzalez was rejected this week.

The situation is further complicated by the fact that Liverpool were only planning a season-long loan deal for the 21 year-old, with a view to a £4.7million deal with his Spanish club Albacete next summer.

Gonzalez is currently recovering from a cruciate knee injury and is not expected to be fit until October.

The permit was refused primarily because Chile are not in the top 70 of the FIFA rankings, and it is believed Liverpool also fell foul of regulations that say the player had to be among their highest wage-earners.

Government regulations also require that when signing a young player from outside the EU, a club must convince officials that there is no comparable player in their own country first.