Benitez drops strong Barry hint

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Speculation had been growing that the Barry deal was dead and that Liverpool's American owners had not come up with the money because they were doubting the wisdom of the £18million price tag.

But Benitez said: "(This deal) is not about money."

That suggests that he can find the cash, but the doubts at Anfield are now about the merits of the transfer fee, the length of the contract and the player's age.

The situation was complicated further by the outstanding performance of Xabi Alonso in Friday's 1-0 win over Lazio and the backing he got from the Kop who clearly do not want to see one of their favourites sold to buy Barry.

But all Benitez would say was: "We have a good player (Alonso) and we have another good player coming in soon.

"We can improve the squad, so we will try to do that. We will bring in one more player if we can.

"I do not know when. But clearly we have problems on the left, Kewell has gone, Aurelio is injured and Leto cannot get a work permit.

"Babel is away in the Olympic Games. Maybe he can come back and fill that role, but I know we can improve in this area.

"Who comes in? The situation is not a question of money. He is English and he can play three different positions, but I am talking about someone who can play on the left."