Houllier still keen on bringing Baros to Lyon

GERARD HOULLIER is refusing to give up on signing Milan Baros for a second time in his managerial career.

Baros made it clear, both immediately before and in the days after Liverpool’s Champions League triumph, that his future at Anfield was uncertain.

The Czech Republic international stated a number of clubs were interested in him, amongst them Spanish giants Valencia.

But it was Lyon and recently-appointed manager Houllier, who signed Baros for the Reds that made an approach.

The 23-year-old is understood to have rebuffed the interest of the French champions, but chairman Jean-Michel Aulas insists Baros remains a priority.

And Igor Biscan is poised to make a swift return to Istanbul - a month after Liverpool’s Champions League triumph. Besiktas are on the brink of signing the Croatia midfielder, who is currently out of contract at Anfield.

Liverpool, meanwhile, face the possibility of a nightmare trip to Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan or Armenia when they start the defence of their Champions League crown next month.

After savouring the delights of such places as Monaco, Turin and Athens during last seasons competition, Benitez’s side now take on an altogether different proposition.

The champions were recently given special dispensation by UEFA to take part in next season’s competition, despite finishing outside the top-four qualifying places in the Premiership.

In return, the Reds must start in the first qualifying round for which they have been seeded, albeit with a number of ‘interesting’ venues on the cards.

The 12 potential opponents are: FK Rabotnicki (Macedonia), FC Dinamo Minsk (Belarus), FC Pyunik (Armenia), Sliema Wanderers (Malta), KF Tirana (Albania), FC Levadia Tallinn (Estonia), Glentoran (Northern Ireland), Total Network Solutions (Wales), F91 Dudelange (Luxembourg), PFC Neftchi (Azerbaijan), HB Torshavn (Faroe Islands), FC Kairat Almaty (Kazhakstan).

Benitez and his players will understandably be hoping for an easy opening tie against the likes of Glentoran, TNS or Sliema when the draw is made on Friday.

The first leg is now just three weeks away, with the competition getting underway on July 12 and 13, with the second leg a week later.

Should Liverpool progress, they will also be seeded for the second qualifying round, so avoiding the likes of Celtic, Anderlecht, Dinamo Kiev and Lokomotiv Moscow, with the games to be played on July 26-27 and August 2-3.

However, should Liverpool make it to the final qualifying round they will face a protest from the Czech FA that Slavia Prague will have lost their place as one of the seeds.

The Czechs would therefore face a much tougher task in qualifying for the lucrative group stage.