Mascherano set for new Reds deal

(GSM) – Liverpool are reportedly ready to offer star midfielder Javier Mascherano a new contract in a bid to stave off interest from Spanish giants Barcelona in the summer.

The Argentine, who has long been on Barca coach Pep Guardiola’s wanted list, has been held on by the Merseysiders ever since the speculation arose of a potential bid from the Catalan giants.

The 25-year-old, who first came to England at West Ham United along with Carlos Tevez in 2006, is a linchpin of Rafael Benitez’s midfield and it would be a blow to lose a second player to La Liga in consecutive years, after Xabi Alonso left for Real Madrid last summer.

Mascherano’s current deal runs until the summer of 2012, but Benitez is acutely aware that Barcelona would be prepared to offer the playing improved terms to lure him to the Nou Camp.

Much may still rest on where Liverpool finish this season, as the failure to qualify for the Champions League could yet have a bearing on the player’s future.

Irrespective of whether Liverpool finish outside the top-four or not, Pepe Reina has committed himself to the Anfield club after signing an improved contract.

Benitez had been desperate to sort out the the future of his influential goalkeeper and will be delighted that talks with Reina’s advisors have now reached a successful conclusion.

The Spanish international who was signed from Villarreal in the summer of 2005, has been one of Benitez’s biggest success stories and is currently on course to win his fourth ‘Golden Gloves’.

Like Mascherano, Reina’s deal was due to expire in 2012.