Hodgson: No sign of Mascherano leaving
Poulsen was presented to the media yesterday after signing a three-year contract following his £4.5m move from Juventus.
The arrival of the Danish defensive midfielder was thought likely to prompt the departure of Mascherano – who has been linked with a reunion with former Reds boss Rafael Benitez at Inter Milan – but Hodgson said that was not the case.
“I don’t want to let Javier Mascherano go. At the moment Javier has shown no signs of going,” he said. “He came back fairly late from the World Cup and has been away on international duty but I suppose I’ve had seven or eight training sessions with him now.
“As far as I am concerned he is a Liverpool player and will be until the day someone signs him – and that day does not seem to be imminent.”
Hodgson said the Argentina captain was in contention for tomorrow’s Arsenal clash and could well start, considering Poulsen only arrived yesterday.
“It is not a question of Christian replacing Javier, I believe Javier is going to play for us,” added Hodgson.
“We didn’t take Christian to replace anyone, we took him in because we wanted to improve the size and quality of our squad.”
Hodgson admitted he had agreed with the 26-year-old that if the right club and offer came in they could cede to his request to leave, but they were still waiting for that to appear. “As far as Javier is concerned I can quite categorically state there has been no offer from any club for him,” he added.
“We made it clear to him that if the offer he wanted came along we probably would not stand in his way but that offer has not come along and he is working hard to play for Liverpool.’’
Hodgson is still optimistic of signing Middlesbrough goalkeeper Brad Jones. And there’s further good news with Fernando Torres fit for tomorrow after sustaining an adductor injury in Spain’s World Cup final victory.
Meanwhile Liverpool’s ownership battle looks like dragging on past the end of the transfer window after the board reviewed a number of proposed bids but admitted the outcome and timing of the sale was “uncertain”.
“The Liverpool FC board has reviewed a number of proposed bids for the club at a meeting held today,” read a club statement.
“The board will continue to act in the best interests of Liverpool Football Club and its supporters, doing all that it can to ensure that the club is ultimately sold to a buyer who has the resources and real commitment to give it a long-term, stable and secure funding position for its plans.
“The sale process is continuing. However, its timing and outcome remain uncertain.
“In the meantime, we will not comment on rumour and speculation.”
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