Liverpool have been forced to accept they should sell Mascherano now because of his consistent refusal to commit his future to the club.
And Inter have begun moves to sign the midfielder after his agent Walter Tamer claimed it would be a "dream" for him to be reunited with Rafa Benitez.
Tamer is believed to have been to Milan to open talks with Inter, although the Champions League holders have yet to have any formal discussions with Liverpool, and sources even claimed Mascherano has been there too, despite not having permission to talk to the club.
The fee will be the only sticking point and Liverpool will want close to £30million for Argentina's World Cup skipper.
Inter are reluctant to fork out this much and will offer less than £20million for Mascherano, who is due back at Melwood to start training next week, believe they will hold the upper hand in the negotiations because the former West Ham man is in the final two years of his Anfield contract.
Inter have yet to meet Liverpool's valuation and are hurriedly trying to ship out Ghana World Cup star Sulley Muntari who is available for around £7 million.
Benitez and Mascherano had an up-and-down time at Liverpool, with the Spaniard signing the Argentinian from West Ham - but then the pair fell out over the offer of a contract extension.
Mascherano, 26, left for South Africa without signing a new deal and the Italians know his value would plummet if Liverpool were to hang on to him after the transfer window closes on August 31.
The Reds are also wary of what happened 12 months ago when they blocked Mascherano joining Barcelona.
He took that refusal badly and his form suffered in the first three months of the campaign, which was one of many contributory factors to Liverpool's woeful season.
Liverpool do not want to risk Mascherano pulling another strop and destabilising Hodgson's debut campaign if he is prevented from leaving again this summer.
Ideally, Hodgson would like to keep Mascherano and complete a hat-trick of successes after persuading Steven Gerrard and Fernando Torres to stay.
But the club feel it is too late for any eleventh-hour diplomacy because Mascherano is so determined to leave.
He has made his intentions clear by snubbing Hodgson's attempts to speak to him and refuses to answer his phone calls.
As good as Mascherano undoubtedly is, the club can cope without him and they have a ready-made replacement in Lucas, who had his best campaign for Liverpool last season, while Hodgson has big hopes for Alberto Aquilani.
Liverpool were hoping Barcelona would follow up last summer's interest with a bid, but the Catalans' money problems rule them out of the race, leaving the field clear for Inter.
Hodgson would still hope to sign a midfielder and another player with whatever fee is agree with Inter and Juventus' Christian Poulsen is one option in midfield for £6million.
He also needs two left-backs to replace Emiliano Insua and Fabio Aurelio and is said to be interested in Wigan's Maynor Figueroa and PSV Eindoven's Mexican World Cup defender Carlos Salcido.
Hodgson's overhaul at Anfield is in full swing and Albert Rieira is joining Olympiakos, while Swiss flop Philipp Degen has been told he can go.
Hodgson claims he will not rush into making bad buys and says he will be patient, even though Liverpool's first game against Rabotnicki is just five days away.
"I don't think deadlines are realistic," he said. "It takes time to get the people you want and the most important thing is getting the people you want. If you can do it quickly that's great because you have them in, but if it takes time, you take time."
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