Liverpool to offer new deal for Mascherano, Tevez to sign city this week

Liverpool are ready to offer Javier Mascherano, 25, a new contract this week in a bid to persuade him to stay.

He is unsettled as his wife does not want to return from Argentina and Barcelona have expressed strong interest.

But Liverpool will look to nearly treble his pay to keep him.

Real Madrid maintain an interest in Xabi Alonso but are struggling to match the £35million valuation.

Liverpool have signed France Under 18 international defender Chris Mavinga, 18, from Paris St Germain.

Carlos Tevez will fly back from holiday today to complete a £25million move to Manchester City and disappoint Chelsea.

The striker was being pursued by Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich’s club but is heading for City after being persuaded to join the ambitious project manager Mark Hughes is masterminding.

Tevez will undergo a medical today and is hoping to join City’s tour of South Africa, which departs on Wednesday, with a five-year contract worth £150,000 a week agreed.

Those wages and the fact that his family is settled in Cheshire worked against Chelsea, who were keen to lure him after he was released by Manchester United but are still adjusting to life as a club without the greatest spending power.

The changing of the guard in terms of finances in the Barclays Premier League has been underlined already this summer by City’s signing of £12m midfielder Gareth Barry from Aston Villa and striker Roque Santa Cruz, who cost £18m from Blackburn.

But buying Tevez will also make its mark on neighbours United, who failed to convince the Argentina international they wanted him enough after his two-year loan expired at the end of last season.