English Premier League: Hodgson says he is not worried by Mascherano
Liverpool’s new manager Roy Hodgson has stated that he is not worried by the fact that Mascherano has not replied to his calls. Mascherano who is currently under contract at Liverpool has not made any contact with the club or the manager ever since the 2010 FIFA World Cup ended.
Mascherano captained his national team, Argentina at the World Cup. He played all the matches for Argentina at the 2010 World Cup as a defensive midfielder. His national team manager, Diego Maradona rated Mascherano quite highly during their World Cup campaign. In some matches, Mascherano was sometimes the only recognizable central midfielder on the field for Argentina.
The Argentinean captain has been in demand after his World Cup performances. One of his most prominent chasers have been Inter Milan so far. Inter Milan appointed Liverpool’s ex-manager Rafael Benitez as their manager earlier on in the month and are interested in signing Liverpool’s central midfielder, Mascherano.
Mascherano’s agent has not made any secret of the fact that his client will look favorably upon a move towards the Italian giants. Inter Milan won the Scudetto, Coppa Italia and the UEFA Champions League last season under their last manager, Jose Mourinho’s leadership.
Current Liverpool manager, Roy Hodgson has already met with other stars at the club such as Spain’s Fernando Torres and Steven Gerrard but still is to meet Mascherano in person. Hodgson recently revealed that the Argentinean midfielder does not need to make contact with him.
He said that, he had voice mailed Mascherano and expressed his desire to see the Argentinean midfielder at Liverpool’s training ground whenever the footballer returned from his holiday. He added that he had specifically told the Liverpool midfielder not to contact him, in the voice mail message.
Hodgson also stated that, he just wanted the Argentinean to know that the Liverpool manager was thinking of him. Hodgson went on to say that he won’t have a lot to say to Mascherano, other than welcome back. Hodgson also said that, Liverpool have a job on their hands to find replacements for Fabio Aurelio and Emiliano Insua after the club had parted ways with the two left backs. He explained that Insua’s transfer to Fiorentina had been finalized and what was left now was for the player’s agent to finalize the personal terms of the switch.
Hodgson also said that it was the right time for Insua to move. As far as Aurelio’s departure is concerned, his exit from the club resulted from a failure of agreement between the club and the player regarding the footballer’s contract. Hodgson has already signed one more player at the club in shape of Joe Cole on a free transfer.
His addition to the squad will add some depth to the Liverpool team but they will be looking to further reinforce their ranks to at least finish in the top four and qualify for the UEFA Champions league for the 2011-2012 season.
Tags: