Liverpool Plan Bid for Aston Villa Misfit – Report

Liverpool have identified Aston Villa goalkeeper Shay Given to provide backup for Simon Mignolet, according to the Mirror. The veteran stopper is not part of Paul Lambert's plans and was not part of Villa's pre-season tour this summer, alerting Brendan Rodgers of the possibility of landing him for a nominal fee.

Liverpool want Aston Villa goalkeeper Shay Given as back-up for Belgian international Simon Mignolet, according to the Mirror. The report claims the former Newcastle United no 1 is not wanted at Villa Park and the fact Paul Lambert dropped the 37-year-old Republic of Ireland international from his pre-season tour has alerted Brendan Rodgers.

The Reds loaned Spain international Pepe Reina to Serie A club Napoli, leaving them without a viable alternative to the 25-year-old Mignolet; the former Sunderland No 1 is a summer arrival at Anfield.

Villa are understood to be keen to transfer Given, particularly because he has three years left on his £60,000 per week contract at Villa Park. Given, who has also played for Manchester City, Blackburn and Swindon Town in his professional career, made only nine appearances for the Villans, across all competitions, last season and is unlikely to have any major role to play this season either.

In other transfer news, the Reds pursuit of defenders Tiago Ilori and Mamadou Sakho has hit a roadblock. According to the Mirror, Sporting Lisbon and Paris St Germain (PSG) want £17m and £13m, respectively, for the Portuguese and French players. Both Ilori and Sakho will be out of contract next season and Rodgers is believed to be unwilling to spend £30m at this point in time.

However, the former Swansea City manager's hand may be forced, following injuries to Ivory Coast international Kolo Toure and Uruguayan Sebastian Coates.

Injury Worries

Meanwhile, the Merseysiders have injury concerns to defenders Kolo Toure and Aly Cissokho and midfielder Joe Allen. The three received knocks during the club's Capital One Cup game against Notts County and are in danger of missing Sunday's high-profile Premier League clash against champions Manchester United.

"There's no doubt playing extra time was a blow. Kolo's injury came in extra time. He wouldn't have done that during normal time. We have ourselves to blame for his injury.... fingers crossed he doesn't miss that many games for Liverpool," captain Steven Gerrard said.