Diouf set for Liverpool exit

El-Hadji Diouf’s Liverpool career looks as good as over after he was left out of the squad which leaves for a three-match tour of the United States tomorrow.

The Senegal striker has not been given a squad number for the new campaign by boss Rafael Benitez – new boy Djibril Cisse now wearing the number nine shirt Diouf wore last season – and it seems certain the £10m (€15m) misfit has no future at Anfield.

He has been a major let down after joining Liverpool from Lens just after the 2002 World Cup and former boss Gerard Houllier recently described Diouf as the biggest disappointment of his time at the club.

Benitez dropped a big hint about Diouf’s future earlier this week when he revealed he had only spoken to three players about their futures since arriving.

One, Markus Babbel, has already joined Stuttgart, while full back Gregory Vignal, on loan in Spain last term, was another. The third was Diouf, whose on and off-field behaviour eventually cost him the backing of Houllier.

Benitez named all his star names, including the six players on Euro 2004 duty, plus five youngsters in the 23-man squad.

They are the French U-21 pair Anthony Le Tallec and Florent Sinama-Pongolle, plus home grown players Paul Harrison – as third choice goalkeeper – defender Zak Whitbread and midfielder Stephen Warnock, who was out on loan last term at Coventry.

For the players in the States, the matches against Celtic, Porto and Roma are the final opportunity to influence Benitez’s thinking as he plans his buying.

He said: “At this moment I do not know how many players I will sign. It is up to the squad we have at the moment.

“If they train well and show me good things then maybe I will just sign one or two more players. I do not have an exact number in mind right now.

“I have spoken with Rick Parry (chief executive) about the squad and I said to him that it is not important to spend big money, but that it is important to spend money well.

“If you have a table with four legs and they are good legs then you do not need another leg. If we have a team with good players then we might not need others. We will see.”

Young striker Neil Mellor also misses the trip after suffering a knee injury in training that will sideline him for six weeks.

But there is a big chance for Croatian Igor Biscan to impress Benitez after starting in central midfield in the midweek win at Wrexham.

“I was pleased with the way Igor played in the first friendly and want to see him again in that role. He will get that chance in the US,” Benitez added.

Benitez used 21 players at Wrexham and surprisingly only included Norwegian full-back John Arne Riise in the second period.

Riise had an erratic season last term but believes he is up to the task, saying: “It is good that we are going away for a while because that will help with the team bonding and team togetherness.

“With a new manager and new staff at the club I think it is important we go away and spend time getting to know each other.

“I am sure we will all get a chance to show what we can do and it is up to us to stake our claim for a place in the team on the first day of the season.”

But with the new season just three weeks away, it is clear that Benitez is preparing for a couple of new signings, and has already been linked with tough young Argentinian defender Fabricio Coloccini who is currently preparing for Sunday’s Copa America final against Brazil.

He was on loan with Villareal last season from AC Milan and obviously impressed Benitez with his displays in the Spanish league.