The Liverpool manager had expected to operate this month under the same financial constraints that existed throughout 2009 at Anfield: namely, spending no more than he can bring in from sales. Even that model now seems optimistic, however, with Benítez likely to be restricted to signing Rodríguez on an 18-month contract from Atlético Madrid plus one loan deal as he attempts to fulfil his guarantee of qualifying for the Champions League for a sixth successive season.
Liverpool are making good progress in their efforts to offload much of the dead wood in Benítez's squad by the end of January, and all for permanent transfer fees. Andriy Voronin and Andrea Dossena are close to joining Dynamo Moscow and Napoli respectively, Philipp Degen is the subject of interest from several sides in the Bundesliga, while the Anfield club have also rejected a bid in excess of £8m from Birmingham City for their unwanted Holland forward, Ryan Babel. Yet Benítez's hopes of strengthening his attack with a firm offer for the Aston Villa and former Liverpool striker Emile Heskey, for example, are expected to be dashed, as such a deal would be beyond his resources.
Liverpool insiders claim the constraints have not been imposed on Benítez by the club's owners, Tom Hicks and George Gillett. Executives believe players bought in the January transfer window are habitually overpriced and the club would rather save the income from sales to build a war chest for the summer. But there will be immense disappointment at the latest financial balancing act for a manager who last month confirmed the need to reduce the Americans' debt on Liverpool had taken precedence over investing in a squad that finished runners-up in the Premier League last season.
Benítez may therefore be tempted to retain players on the periphery of his plans, and he announced at the weekend that Babel would not be leaving Anfield this month. "At this moment we are not trying to sell him," said the Liverpool manager, following the FA Cup draw at Reading. Liverpool have since received and rejected an offer from Birmingham that would allow them to recoup much of the £11.5m paid to Ajax for Babel in 2007, although the club's stance may be influenced by a desire to encourage an auction for the disillusioned 23-year-old.
Besiktas, Galatasaray and Juventus have all been linked with Babel, and several Spanish clubs are also interested. Liverpool would prefer to sell Babel to a European club than risk him fulfilling his promise at a domestic rival, but Birmingham may withdraw their interest and pursue alternative targets should an auction develop.
While there is uncertainty over where Babel will be employed next month, Liverpool's hopes of finally getting rid of Voronin and Dossena for good are close to being realised. Benítez tried to sell the former, a free transfer from Bayer Leverkusen in 2007, and Dossena, a £7m arrival from Udinese in 2008, last summer only to be thwarted on both fronts. CSKA and Dynamo Moscow have made offers for Voronin of between £1.5m and £2m, with the latter club the favourites to clinch the deal after holding talks with the player yesterday. Napoli are close to taking Dossena back to Italy for a fee of £4.4m. Degen is also available this month providing a fee can be agreed with Liverpool.
The Anfield club are poised to sign the Argentina international Rodríguez, despite interest in the right-sided midfielder from Boca Juniors, after improving their offer from an initial loan arrangement to a permanent 18-month transfer. Once the fee and wages for Rodríguez have been accounted for, however, Benítez could be limited to only one other loan deal.
