Roy Hodgson finally talks with Javier Mascherano

Roy Hodgson has finally been able to meet Mascherano and attempt to persuade him to stay at Liverpool
11 April 2012

Liverpool midfielder Javier Mascherano met up with new manager Roy Hodgson for the first time this morning after returning to pre-season training.

The Argentina captain has been uncontactable since going on holiday after the World Cup but was back at Melwood on schedule along with compatriot Maxi Rodriguez.

Hodgson tried to speak to the 26-year-old, who has been heavily linked with a summer reunion with former Reds boss Rafael Benitez at Inter Milan, following the end of the player's involvement in South Africa.

However, the 62-year-old Englishman was only able to leave messages for Mascherano telling him he was looking forward to meeting him back on Merseyside as his calls were not returned.

Hodgson will outline his plans to Mascherano in much the same way as he has already done to senior players Steven Gerrard, Jamie Carragher and Fernando Torres in an attempt to persuade him he has a future at Anfield.

But there still remains a nagging doubt that the combative midfielder, who was offered a new contract in the latter stages of last season, has set his sights on a move to the continent.

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in