Scott Carson made his England debut in Austria on Friday night as Steve McClaren’s side won a pointless friendly 1-0 courtesy of Peter Crouch’s headed goal from a corner in the first half. Steven Gerrard played the first 45 minutes.

But Rafa Benitez admitted on Friday that Liverpool keeper Carson - on loan to Aston Villa - will be allowed to make his move to Villa Park perment, if the price is right.

That price is said to be around £10 million for the future England number 1, who was signed from Leeds for 10% of that price in 2005.

In the same week Pepe Reina has been receiving praise from team mates and his manager, Carson also spoke of his own desire to settle at a club which can offer him regular first team action.

Benitez admits he won’t stand in the way of Carson, saying “You can understand that he wants to play. He knows Pepe Reina is top class and that it will be difficult for him to play here.

“Scott is a good professional and a nice boy. This is a crucial time in his career and he needs to play. At the moment we are concentrating on our own team and our own competitions, but Villa can decide if they want to keep the player.

“At the moment we have Pepe, Charles Itandje and David Martin as goalkeepers so we can manage the situation okay.”

Liverpool’s next match is the trip to Newcastle next weekend and they are set to be boosted by defender Daniel Agger’s return after two months on the sidelines. The Danish international broke his metatarsal in September but is now back in training.

The two other injury doubts - apart from long term absentee Jermaine Pennant - surround Xabi Alonso and Yossi Benayoun. Alonso doesn’t look likely to make it for the Newcastle match, while Benayoun might be fit.

Meanwhile, reports on Friday suggest Momo Sissoko wants to speak to Rafa regarding his future at the club. The Malian midfielder came under criticism after some poor performances earlier in the season, after a bright start though, and has been out of favour in recent games.

With Lucas Leiva’s emergence, who offers better options on the ball, has seen Sissoko’s future come under doubt, but ex-Reds midfield enforcer Didi Hamann is backing Sissoko to stay, saying “Momo is only young but I think he offers them something different from Mascherano and Stevie (Gerrard), in that he is a real ball winner.

“He covers as much ground as anyone and wins a lot of balls. But he’s obviously not as high in confidence as he should be.”

LOAN WATCH: Paul Anderson (Swansea)

Paul Anderson was again in action for high flying Swansea City on Friday night, but they slipped to their first defeat in 11 games, losing 1-0. Anderson has impressed with 8 goals so far this season from right midfield, and was on form in the first half. The official Swans site praised him “Swansea’s best outlet remained the pace and skill of Anderson down the right as he was giving Skarz a torrid time.”