Rafa ready to wheel and deal in transfer market

Liverpool boss Rafael Benitez is chasing two German-based centre-backs and has revealed he expects Milan Baros' £6.5million transfer to Aston Villa to be completed in two or three days.

Benitez has been linked with Stuttgart's Portuguese international defender Fernando Meira and 19-year-old German Under-21 international centre-back Lukas Sinkiewicz who is at Cologne.

And he has also declined to rule out another move for Feyenoord's top scorer Dirk Kuyt.

Benitez said: "If we talk about players their price increases, I have two names and we are checking them both."

Benitez admits he desperately needs to strengthen his defence and also to buy a right winger. And it is now clear there will be intense transfer movement at Anfield over the next week.

The move for the two German-based players also throws into doubt claims Liverpool are in the hunt for Denmark's 20 year-old defender Daniel Agger from Bromby.

Benitez believes he can tie up a deal for both Sinkiewicz and Meira for under £4million, while Bromby are asking closer to £5million for their player.

Benitez added: "When we hear figures quoted of £5million then we know we will have to negotiate.

And the remarkable re-appearance of Kuyt on Benitez's list is another twist in the Michael Owen saga.

Real Madrid want £11million-plus and the player would certainly command a four-year contract that would bring the total outlay to close to £30million.

That is money Liverpool do not have, and Benitez is now juggling figures to strengthen his side and maybe replace strikers who could be sold.

Baros is expected to move this week, and there is still the chance of a bid for Djibril Cisse. If that happens, Benitez could move instantly for Kuyt, who is now interesting Spurs.

The fee for the Dutch League's top scorer was around £14million at the beginning of the summer, but has now dropped by half with the transfer deadline little more than a week away.

The end of Baros' Anfield career is coming close. Benitez said: "Maybe the Baros deal could be completed in two or three days, maximum. But if he is here he can play for us.

"Aston Villa is closer to the deal. Lyon offered more money but he prefers to stay in England. Okay, we need to work on that but in two or three days we will have the answer.

"I do not want to sell strikers, I am happy with them. But we need money for other positions, and we have offers for Baros and we are considering that. If we have no offers for other strikers then we are not thinking of selling because we are happy with them."

Benitez could also be playing a game of brinkmanship with Owen's advisors, who would want a similar deal to the one he has at Real Madrid.

Benitez said of Kuyt: "He's a good centre-forward, top scorer in the Dutch League, and someone we have been talking about. He is cheaper than other players."

It is clear Benitez needs to sell before he can buy, and he added: "If we sell some of the strikers, for example, and we have an offer for Milan Baros, we can spend the money on a centre-back and a winger. At the moment we do not need a centre-forward. We need the money for paying Peter Crouch and signing a centre-back. 

"But if we don't find the right players, we will not sign anyone. We want at least two new players. Maybe we can find two good centre-backs because we have less players in this position and need to reinforce.

"We are ready to talk to agents, clubs and players. If we hear figures like £5million then we will have to negotiate.

Certainly the two quickest deals could be the Bundesliga players once Baros has been sold. Meira, 27, has 19 Portugal caps and moved to Germany after a spell with Benfica. Sinkiewicz is highly rated, aged 19, and tipped as a star of the future.