Roy Hodgson will be handed an initial transfer budget of £15m when he completes his move to Liverpool.
The Englishman has already drawn up a list of targets and Javier Mascherano’s proposed £25m move to Barcelona and Yossi Benayoun’s £6m transfer to Chelsea will further boost his spending power.
Approaches for Gilberto Silva, Brede Hangeland and Rafael van der Vaart are high on Hodgson's wish-list, with an Anfield return for Danny Murphy also under consideration.
Should Mascherano finally be granted his wish to join Barcelona, former Arsenal midfield anchor man Silva would prove a ready-made replacement, after underlining his enduring worth for Brazil at the World Cup and being made available by Panathinaikos, due to the financial crisis in Greece.
One-time Arsenal target Hangeland would readily follow Hodgson to Anfield, as would Murphy, while new Real Madrid coach Jose Mourinho would not stand in Van der Vaart's way, as he bids to make his mark at the Bernabeu.
Hodgson was already celebrating an early breakthrough yesterday after Milan Jovanovic finally confirmed he is bound for Anfield.
Former Anfield boss Benitez reached a pre-contract agreement with Jovanovic, but the Standard Liege frontrunner appeared to cast doubt over it during Serbia's World Cup campaign.
After scoring Serbia's winner against Germany, he hinted he was ready to consider other offers, following expressions of interest from Olympiakos and Benitez's new club Inter Milan.
Liverpool remained unmoved by the speculation and insisted they had a 'watertight' agreement for the 29-year old to become a Liverpool player after the expiry of his contract with Belgian side Standard.
Jovanovic finally ended the uncertainty by revealing he had signed a three-year contract at Anfield and underlining his eagerness to make a favourable impression on Hodgson.
'I am going to Liverpool, and I have signed there for three years,' he said. 'It is a real contract, not just a pre-agreement, and the departure of Benitez changes nothing. I have maintained contact with the Liverpool board throughout the summer, and everything is good. Everything is in order (for a work permit) because, over the past two years, I have played in 75 per cent of the national side's games.
'I am already house-hunting in the Liverpool area. I will join up with the squad at their training camp in Switzerland in the middle of July, and I will make sure I go there in good shape. From Thursday, I will start my individual training programme, so I can prove to the manager straightaway that I am worth a place in the side.'
@mods I know the title is unconventional, but I felt it was necessary given our circumstances.
p.s. as always, the link to the source is in the title.
