Liverpool kick off summer transfer season with Barry bid

LONDON (AFP) - Liverpool have kicked off what promises to be a busy summer transfer period by tabling a bid for Aston Villa's Gareth Barry that values the England midfielder at around ten million pounds (20 million dollars).

Reds boss Rafael Benitez has identified Barry, 27, as the key to strengthening his midfield and the Villa captain is reportedly keen on a move to a Champions League club.

Chelsea are also believed to be interested but Barry may be swayed by the chance of linking up at club level with Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard, with whom he has forged a good understanding in the England midfield.

Barry has two years left on his contract so Villa boss Martin O'Neill could opt to hang on to him, although that would involve accepting a substantial decline in the player's transfer value over the remainder of his current deal.

O'Neill reluctantly confirmed that a bid had been made by Liverpool but said it was not a straight cash offer, fuelling speculation that he has been seeking to persuade Benitez to allow England striker Peter Crouch to move to Villa Park.

The former Celtic boss insisted that his preference would be to keep Barry if at all possible.

"I don't want to be in a position of letting really good players go," O'Neill said. "Gareth Barry is a really good player who still has two years left on his contract.

"I haven't discussed these things with him yet. At some stage obviously I will do. But the day before probably our most important game of the season is not the time to be discussing it."

Arsenal meanwhile are facing the prospect of losing two of their midfield regulars with the future of both Mathieu Flamini and Alexander Hleb up in the air.

Flamini, 24, is out of contract at the end of the season and is believed to be considering an offer from Juventus as well as a significantly improved deal from Arsenal.

Gunners boss Arsene Wenger, who had expected his compatriot to make a decision by the end of April, said on Friday that he expected an answer imminently.

"The latest is that we are at the end of April but it is still not sorted out," Wenger said. "Certainly we should get an answer today (Friday) or tomorrow."

Asked what he thought Flamini's decision would be, Wenger said: "I'm always positive because I believe the link he has with the club will be stronger than all the other different attractions that he can have.

"I know that if it's down to football then he will stay here. If it's down to financial resources he might not stay here.

"He is free to choose a different direction, everybody is free out of contract and you have to respect that."

Hleb is a target for Internazionale but Wenger said he has not yet been contacted by the Italian giants or any other club about the Belarus international.

Ferguson goal lifts Rangers in SPL race

Barry Ferguson gave Rangers a lift in the SPL title race by claiming the only goal of the game in a 1-0 win against Motherwell at Ibrox.

The captain came to the rescue with a 73rd-minute strike to hand Rangers their first SPL victory since the 1-0 win over Celtic at the same venue on March 29.

The Ibrox side are now four points behind their bitter rivals with two games in hand - and four trophies remain in their sights.

Rangers headed into the match aware there was no more room for error if they wanted to keep the title race in their own hands.

Goals had been hard to come by in recent matches - 210 minutes of football against Fiorentina had ended goalless before a spot-kick triumph, while Sunday's SPL clash at Hibernian also ended 0-0.

Manager Walter Smith opted for an attacking line-up, with Jean-Claude Darcheville and Kris Boyd deployed up front, and boosted by the pace of Nacho Novo on the left of midfield.

Steven Whittaker also returned from suspension to claim a starting role, meaning Sasa Papac was dropped

and Daniel Cousin and Christian Dailly had to settle for places on the bench alongside Charlie Adam - who had recovered from a knee injury which had threatened to end his season.

Motherwell rested several key players for their defeat to Celtic at the weekend and, with third place and a UEFA Cup slot still up for grabs, goalkeeper Graeme Smith, Simon Lappin, Ross McCormack, Stephen Hughes and Steven McGarry all returned.

The prelude to the match was dominated by images of Rangers' route to the UEFA Cup final being beamed around the Govan stadium and perhaps the video clips had an effect on the Rangers players, who dominated the opening spell.

The first opportunity arrived with just two minutes on the clock. A neat pass from Darcheville allowed Barry Ferguson to release Boyd through on goal but the danger was cleared by the Motherwell defence before he could shoot.

Boyd then played Darcheville into the box before making a run to collect the return pass only to lose his footing and swipe at fresh air.

David Weir also came close when he saw a long-range header touched onto the crossbar by Smith, before Nacho Novo lashed the rebound into the side-netting.

At the other end Hughes set up McCormack, named in the Scotland squad for the first time earlier today - but he dragged his shot across goal and narrowly wide.

With half-time approaching, Boyd teed up a shot for Darcheville - only for the Frenchman to rifle wide of target as the first half ended in stalemate.

The Light Blues faithful would have jeered such a scoreline in the past but their ire was reserved for the match officials, with the players leaving the pitch to shouts and cheers of encouragement.

Set-pieces had proved to be Motherwell's Achilles heel against Celtic and they almost succumbed to an opener against the other half of the Old Firm two minutes after the restart.

Steven Davis' inswinging corner found the head of Weir but the veteran defender was again denied when he glanced across the goalmouth and past the upright.

Darcheville then pounced on a long clearance from Carlos Cuellar, only for Brian McLean to hoof his cross-cum-shot to safety - before blasting high and wide from just inside the box.

The breakthrough eventually came when a Davis corner was nodded on by Weir to Ferguson, who was waiting on the edge of the six-yard box to gratefully lash into the top corner of the net.

Motherwell immediately brought on Chris Porter and Darren Smith for McCormack and Keith Lasley, while Rangers swapped Darcheville for Adam.

Boyd thought he had wrapped up the win late on when he netted - but the nearside assistant had already flagged for offside before the shot had left his boot. The striker then made way for Cousin as Rangers held on for a much-needed win.

Dundee United are next up in the league for Rangers, before next week's UEFA Cup final against Zenit St Petersburg in Manchester.