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Liverpool boss Rafa Benitez has added Spain's David Silva to his wish-list, after tiring of 'ludicrous' demands for other summer targets.

And Benitez will be helped in his pursuit of the midfielder as his chief scout is the player's mentor. The player is in the Spain team that has taken the European Championship by storm with a 100 per cent record so far.

But Silva's Valencia club are in financial trouble, and have made it known that they are prepared to sell him and fellow Spain star David Villa.

Benitez has grown tired of the sky-high price tags placed on the wide players he has targeted - with Aston Villa's Gareth Barry, Albert Riera of Espanyol and Newcastle's James Milner all vastly overpriced in his opinion.

After a discreet approach from Valencia, Benitez has expressed firm interest in the left-winger.

The big stumbling block is the fee, with Valencia asking in excess of £20million.

But Benitez believes he has two trump cards.

Firstly, Valencia have to sell because of their money worries, and while they will demand a huge fee, they are almost certain to settle for less.

The La Liga club have to fork out around £20m a month in loans and interest payments on their new stadium.

And while publicly they insist they do not want to lose any of their big stars, privately they have contacted several clubs to gauge interest in Silva and Villa.

Liverpool are also keen on Villa, but with Real Madrid, Barcelona and Chelsea circling, the striker will be out of any Anfield price range.

But the Reds have a strong connection with Silva that could tip the scales.

Anfield chief scout Eduardo Macia worked with Silva as a youngster at Valencia.

Macia was a youth team coach when the player broke through to their B team. He helped Silva get a loan to feeder club Eibar, which set the winger on the road to glory.

Silva remembers that, and still keeps in touch with his old pal Macia.


Mirror.co

p/s :He scored a good goal against chelsea last 2 seasons in champ league....