Hodgson Ready To Thwart Rafa Benitez's Tricks

ROY HODGSON is ready to play hardball with former Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez after declaring Dirk Kuyt is not for sale and Javier Mascherano won’t be allowed to leave on the cheap.
And Hodgson admits he is willing to let Mascherano run down the final two years of his contract and walk away for nothing unless Liverpool’s valuation of the player is met.
Inter coach Benitez has been repeatedly linked with a move to be reunited with Mascherano, who was told last year by Liverpool he could leave this summer should a suitable offer be forthcoming.
However, neither Inter nor Barcelona, who are also tracking the Argentina captain, have lodged any official bids.
With less than a fortnight remaining before the transfer window closes, it is thought Inter are biding their time before seeking to take advantage of the player’s desire to leave by making an offer way below Liverpool’s £25million price tag.

But Hodgson is adamant the Anfield outfit won’t be bullied out of their hardline stance and is convinced Mascherano would remain committed to the club should he be compelled to stay.
“We want an offer that meets what we think is his value, and Javier is perfectly happy with this, he doesn’t expect the club to just let him walk out of here,” said the Liverpool manager.
“He is resigned to one of two possibilities – either a club doesn’t come along and offer us his valuation, in which case he stays, or we have an offer that meets his valuation in which case he may go.
“I’m very happy he remains with us because in an ideal world, if it was simply a situation of would we be prepared to listen to offers for Mascherano, I would say no we aren’t.
“I don’t care what money is offered. It’s only this promise that was made a year ago that lingers over my head which means I am even prepared to go as far as this.
“If we reneged on what we’d said to him earlier, then we’d have an unhappy player. But we won’t have an unhappy player if no offer comes in or if the offer comes in and is so ludicrously below what he, I and the rest of the world knows he is worth.”
Hodgson added: “He has a new contract offer, so that’s up to him (whether he wants to sign). As far as I am concerned, I’d be quite happy to work the two years with him. If he then wanted to walk away, then so be it.
“The nicest thing of all would be if he signed a new contract, it’s there for him. But nobody is putting him under any pressure.”
Reports in Italy have also once again suggested Benitez’s Inter will move for Kuyt after their attempts to sign Giuseppe Sculli from Genoa stalled.

But the Serie A side received no encouragement yesterday, with Hodgson stating of Kuyt: “He is not for sale.”
Mascherano will miss Liverpool’s Europa League qualifying play-off first leg tie against Trabzonspor at Anfield this evening after suffering a calf problem towards the end of Sunday’s 1-1 draw with Arsenal.
Should the Argentine appear in the second leg, it would render him ineligible to play in the Champions League this season until the knockout stages.
But Hodgson said: “There’s been no pressure not to cup-tie Mascherano. But he’s injured at the moment and won’t play. He came off after about 80 minutes on Sunday with a slight pull in his calf muscle and has only just started to jog today.
“The worry for us is that he won’t be fit for Monday (at Manchester City).”
Meanwhile, Hodgson remains eager to bolster his forward line and yesterday admitted PSV Eindhoven’s Sweden international striker Ola Toivonen is a leading target.
“We have discussed his name, that’s true,” said the manager. “Like all teams, we are looking at a lot of players. I do know the player and think he is a good player, but can’t give you any further indication.
“That doesn’t mean we are going to rush in and buy him tomorrow. But he is a player who has come up, we have watched him and we know about him.”