Liverpool buoyed by Mascherano ahead of Fiorentina

Liverpool’s final Champions League game of the season against Fiorentina on Wednesday might now be meaningless, but at least Rafa Benitez’s side go into the contest boosted by the news that Javier Mascherano is poised to pledge his long term future to the club.

It promises to be a subdued atmosphere at Anfield to say the least considering Liverpool have failed to qualify for the knock-out stages following some woeful form throughout their Group E campaign.

Yet the mood will be lifted slightly in the wake of Mascherano’s decision to discuss a new and improved contract with the Premier League club.

The Argentina midfielder had been hoping to secure a 30 million-pound switch to Barcelona in the transfer window after becoming disillusioned at Anfield.

But Benitez has held long talks with the former West Ham United player and has revealed he wants to now stay at the club and sign an extension to his current deal, which runs out in 2011.

Benitez insists Mascherano is happy, despite the fact his side have crashed out of the European Cup and appear to have little or no chance of winning the title for yet another season.

Benitez, who is also closing in on a new deal for goalkeeper Pepe Reina, said: “We are happy and he is happier now.The last conversations that we had were very positive.

“We were talking before and we will sit down sooner rather than later and talk about the future. We were talking with him and his agent a month ago about our idea and his idea.

“Everyone can see he’s doing really well and has come back to his best. We were really pleased to talk to him to make progress.”

Benitez insists not even a 50million-pound bid would persuade him to sell Mascherano, who joined on-loan from the Hammers and then cost 18 million pounds when his contract was bought from Media Sports Investments.

Benitez, who could field a somewhat experimental side against the Italian outfit, added: “Clubs can forget about bidding for him, he has no price and he’s happy here.”

Alberto Aquilani is expected to be given his first taste of Champions League football in a Liverpool shirt. The 17million-pound summer signing from Roma has been limited to just 21 minutes of first team action so far due to injuries and team-mate Lucas admits the squad cannot wait to see him perform on a week-to-week basis.

Lucas said: “It is exciting that Alberto is going to get his first chance and we are all looking forward to it. We will give him all the support and respect he needs.

“Hopefully he will do a really good job for us. When you have been out for a long time injured, it takes a while for you to get your rhythm back, but it is easy to see in training that he has got quality on the ball and we hope he is going to help us.

“People will make comparisons, but he is a different player to Xabi (Alonso). He is more attacking and we can all see that he is going to play in a more advanced role.

“Obviously he came to replace Xabi but he is going to need some time to settle and we will do everything to make that happen quickly. We are six games unbeaten. We’ve got a Champions League game now and though we are out, we are determined to get a win to get a little bit more confidence.”