Baros exit gives Benitez options

SOCCER: Milan Baros will undertake a medical at Aston Villa tomorrow before completing his £6.5-million move from Liverpool, a deal which is likely to spark a frantic spell of incoming transfer activity at Anfield.

The Czech international is expected to attend Villa's Premiership game at Portsmouth tonight before accompanying the team back to Birmingham for medical tests. Liverpool had also accepted a bid from former manager Gerard Houllier at Lyon, believed to be worth nearer £8.5 million, though Baros has opted to move to the Midlands.

"I'm delighted we have finally got our man," said the Villa manager David O'Leary last night. "It's taken a while but credit to the chairman (Doug Ellis) and (operations director) Steve Stride for sticking with it. He'll give us a spark that we need up front. I'm looking forward to working with him."

Baros's departure could yet prove the catalyst for Liverpool to mount a renewed attempt to re-sign Michael Owen from Real Madrid, though Rafael Benitez's immediate priorities are a centre-half and right-sided midfielder.

Some of the money - an initial £6 million, with a further £500,000 depending on appearances - goes towards Peter Crouch's £7-million purchase from Southampton, though funds remain for Benitez to strengthen his squad.

Some £1 million will be offered to Bolton Wanderers for their Greece international midfielder Stelios Giannakopoulos, while Liverpool have drawn up a list of six centre-halves - which includes the Dane Daniel Agger of Brondby, Stuttgart's Fernando Meira and Lukas Sinkiewicz at Cologne - of whom they hope to sign up to two.

"The board are working hard looking for more money, but we don't need a lot - maybe that from the transfer of Baros, and then we can buy the players we need," said Benitez. "We are very close on the right midfielder, and we have seen a lot of centre-backs. It is true that Meria and Sinkiewicz are on our list, but we will have to decide over the next few days. It depends on the price and the quality of the player."

A move for Owen remains in the balance, with much now depending upon the future of Djibril Cisse. The French striker has been unsettled by being linked with a loan move to Marseille but Liverpool would only consider receiving a fee for their £14.1-million record signing before progressing with Owen's transfer.

The French club's inability to fund a permanent move could yet see Cisse remaining on Merseyside, with Benitez pledging to play him in a central role in the return leg against CSKA tonight after positioning him on the right flank in recent weeks.

"Sure, we've needed money, and we have had the offers for Baros, but we haven't had anything official for any of the other players, including Cisse," said Benitez. "I have told Cisse, 'You are our player and you are playing games, so forget the rumours and think about the games'. Maybe it was playing on his mind on Saturday (against Sunderland) but this month is always difficult for some players. If he scores tonight he will forget about it."

Cisse will be joined up front tonight by Fernando Morientes as Benitez reunites the strike force that secured the 3-1 first-leg advantage in Bulgaria, though Steven Gerrard has been ruled out with the calf strain he suffered against Sunderland.

Benitez and his captain are confident the injury will have healed in time for Friday's Super Cup fixture against CSKA Moscow in Monaco, with Gerrard insisting he will be fit to join the England squad before next month's World Cup qualifiers against Wales and Northern Ireland.

Even without Gerrard, Liverpool expect to progress to the group stage. "I said to the players this morning it is important to have a lot of respect for CSKA Sofia because we know they are a good team," added Benitez. "But if we score, the tie will be over."

PROBABLE LINE-UPS

LIVERPOOL (4-4-2): Reina; Finnan, Carragher, Hyypia, Warnock; Potter, Hamann, Alonso, Riise; Morientes, Cisse.

CSKA SOFIA (4-4-2): Hmaruc; Zabavnik, Matic, Gueye, Silva; Todorov, Yanev, Hidiouad, Gargorov; Zadi, V Dimitrov.

Referee: W Stark (Germany)

Guardian Service