Liverpool back on the trail of £12m West Ham striker Carlton Cole after Tottenham demand too much for Peter Crouch
Liverpool have made another inquiry about West Ham's Carlton Cole after Tottenham quoted them £15million for Peter Crouch.
Liverpool expect to finalise a £5.5m deal for Juventus midfielder Christian Poulsen within the next 24 hours and are mulling over an improved offer for Middlesbrough goalkeeper Brad Jones.
But manager Roy Hodgson has made another striker his next priority.
That looks like hinging on cash from the sale of Javier Mascherano though after West Ham also quoted Liverpool £12m on England international Cole.
Cole fire: Liverpool boss Roy Hodgson wants to take the West Ham striker to Anfield in a £12m deal
Stoke had an offer rebuffed for Cole at the weekend but he does not want to go there even if a fee is agreed and is keen for Liverpool to maintain interest.
However, cash-strapped Liverpool need money from the proposed sale of Mascherano to Inter Milan for a deal to happen. That though has been held up as Inter await the sale of Mario Balotelli to Manchester City first.
Mascherano's proposed replacement, Poulsen has withdrawn from the Denmark squad to face Germany on Wednesday.
Closing in: Christian Poulsen has withdrawn from the Denmark squad to finalise his switch to Merseyside
Coach Morten Olsen said: 'I was happy to release Christian because this is a very important move for him and for us.
'We can benefit as a national team because he will be playing at a high level and he'll be happy playing for a manager who rates him highly. That should help bring the best out of him.'
Liverpool have also been linked with unsettled Fulham midfielder Zoltan Gera.
Zolt bolt: Hodgson wants to revive ties with Fulham's Zoltan Gera
Meanwhile, the Yahya Kirdi consortium interested in buying Liverpool reportedly expects to sign an initial agreement with the club before the weekend.
That will not, however, complete a takeover and Chinese tycoon Kenny Huang remains in the frame also.
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