Mascherano close to signing permanent Liverpool deal
Mascherano claims a permanet deal with Liverpool is close
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Thursday, 28, Feb 2008 10:04
Javier Mascherano has revealed he is close to signing a permanent deal with Liverpool after months of speculation.
The Argentina midfielder has been on loan at the Merseyside club for the past year and the complicated nature of the player's registration appeared to threaten the prospects of a permanent deal.
"Maybe this week or next week we will be able to say everything's finished. We can't say it just yet but hopefully in a few days everything will be OK," Mascherano told the club website.
He added that there are no problems concerning the fee or the contract and it is now a matter of "getting the papers finished".
The former West Ham player's contract is owned by the Media Sports Investment consortium and it is this arrangement which has complicated the deal.
Mascherano was influential in Liverpool's run to the final of the Champions League last year and has performed well this season, despite the team as a whole coming under criticism after some poor displays.
Further delays to the deal were thought to have been caused by the clubs American owners' reluctance to shell out the money for the midfielder and it was reportedly the reason behind their fall-out with manager Rafa Benitez.