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Rumour Mill: Benayoun to Barca, Heinze in from Real

Barcelona are reportedly after Liverpool winger Yossi Benayoun and have inquired into his availability, according to the Daily Mail.

The Catalan giants were this week knocked back by Reds boss Rafa Benitez in their pursuit of Javier Mascherano with the Spaniard saying Mascherano wasn’t available for any price.

Benayoun recently confirmed that there have been several offers from clubs to persuade him to leave Anfield this summer.

The Israeli international enjoyed a fantastic end to the season, regularly being on the teamsheet and playing an instrumental part in the end of season run which saw the Reds narrowly miss out on the Premier League title.

The Daily Mail says:

According to sources close to Benayoun, senior figures at Barcelona have contacted their Anfield counterparts and enquired about his availability and an asking price.

Meanwhile the availability of long term Liverpool transfer target and former Manchester Utd defender Gabriel Heinze is becoming more and more apparent as Real Madrid look to offload dispensable squad members following the signing of Kaka and imminent arrival of Christiano Ronaldo.

It is understood Benitez is ready to launch a bid for the Argentinean full-back, going head-to-head with his former club Paris St-Germain.

Liverpool almost signed Heinze two years ago, but a clause in his Man Utd contract stated he couldn’t move to a rival club.

Meanwhile Spanish striker Alvaro Negrado today told of how he would love to play up front at Liverpool with Fernando Torres, but has his heart on staying at Real Madrid who have used a buy-back clause to take him back to the Bernabeu from two years at Almeria. However, he is expected to be used by Real as bait to sign more players to add to their fresh ‘˜galacticos’ line-up. [Full Story]