LIVERPOOL want Robbie Keane after giving up on a long-term deal for Nicolas Anelka.
The Anfield club have already made preliminary enquiries about the Irish international striker and are ready to make a firm offer of £12million at the end of the season.
The move comes with manager Gerard Houllier increasingly frustrated in his attempts to turn Anelka's loan deal into a permanent transfer.
Houllier has held meetings with the French striker but is no closer to agreeing terms and now Liverpool are resigned to looking elsewhere.
Anelka's wage demands are a fundamental problem but so too is the player's attitude after he showed complete indifference to the prospect of staying at Anfield beyond the summer.
Houllier believes Liverpool have given the French striker the chance to resurrect his international career and have improved him as a player after his wilderness years at Real Madrid and Paris St Germain.
But far from being grateful, the former Arsenal hit-man seems comfortable with the fact that he will go back to Paris at the end of the season.
During his spell at Anfield Anelka has managed to force his way back into the French squad for the World Cup, with international manager Roger Lemerre heaping praise on him this week.
But it seems that the striker is happy that playing in the World Cup will put him in the shop window and guarantee the massive salary that Liverpool are refusing to pay.
Assistant boss Phil Thompson insisted that talks are still ongoing but he admitted that a deal would ideally have to be done by the end of the season - and as yet they are no nearer to agreeing terms.
"We are still hoping everything will come off. We feel that we've been good for him in getting him back in the French squad and he now has a chance for the World Cup," Thompson said.
"It's three weeks before the end of the season and we would want to do something by then. But everything has to come together for the deal to work.
"Because of the profile of the player, things have to be right for everyone - for Paris, for Nico and for us."
The reality, though, is that Liverpool are resigned to the player going back to Paris at the end of the season, and already Houllier is looking elsewhere.
He is a big admirer of Keane and tried to sign the little striker before he brought Jari Litmanen to Anfield but the Irishman chose instead to go to Leeds.
Thompson took the chance to run the rule over Keane in Ireland's midweek international with the United States. The Leeds forward had an outstanding game and was named man of the match.
Top scout Alex Millar and coach Sammy Lee were also at Leeds' game with Sunderland earlier this month when Keane also played and scored.
Houllier is a long-term admirer of the forward and was in the race to sign him from Inter Milan but lost out to Leeds boss David O'Leary.
Ironically, one of the reasons lifelong Liverpool fan Keane chose to go to Elland Road was because he didn't fancy being fourth-choice striker at Anfield.
But now he finds himself behind former Liverpool man Robbie Fowler at Leeds and that could persuade him to accept Houllier's overtures. Leeds, though, will put up a fight to keep the Irishman.
It is widely assumed that the striker will be one of the players sold to raise funds in the summer, but it could be that Mark Viduka is the man sacrificed to bring in big money, with several top European clubs chasing him.
If the big Aussie is off-loaded, O'Leary would refuse to sell Keane who would then be a potential first-choice partner for Fowler.
If he misses out on Keane, Houllier will return to France with yet another offer for Auxerre's young striker Djibril Cisse, or pursue his interest in Derby's Malcolm Christie.