Thu Jul 10 14:54:55 2008

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Liverpool's Benitez loses interest in Villa

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Liverpool, England (Sports Network) - Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez has admitted his interest in Spain's Euro 2008 hot-shot David Villa has cooled.

The Reds boss was last week linked with a $30 million raid on Valencia to land the four-goal Golden Boot winner.

Benitez was expected to launch a fresh bid to sign the 26-year-old striker when Peter Crouch's $20 million move to Portsmouth goes through later this week, but the Spanish coach has suggested his attention has been refocused on another area of his squad.

The Anfield club are yet to complete the reported $36 million capture of England midfielder Gareth Barry after reaching a stalemate in their transfer negotiations with Aston Villa.

"I said the other day that he (Villa) is one of the names we had on our list, but I can say at this moment that it is not an option for us," he told the club's official website.

"We know Villa is a very good player, we know the price and we know the players we have, so when you consider everything we decided he was one of the names, but at this moment, not our target."

Meanwhile, Benitez has also admitted he has made contact with Tottenham Hotspur to discuss the availability of Robbie Keane.

The Republic of Ireland striker was linked with the Merseyside club last week and Benitez has suggested a deal could be in the pipeline.

"Keane is one of the other names and okay we are still working with other names," he added. "We were in contact and we will see now."

(Courtesy of sportbox.tv)