Reds in contract talks with five
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Liverpool have opened contract negotiations with five key players, manager Rafa Benitez has confirmed.
Reds captain Steven Gerrard revealed earlier on Friday that he was in talks about committing his long-term future to the club.
He is joined by defenders Jamie Carragher and Steve Finnan, midfielder Xabi Alonso and goalkeeper Jose Reina in being offered new deals at Anfield.
Benitez called a halt to discussions to allow his players to focus on the UEFA Champions League semi-final against Chelsea.
Talks resumed after winning a place in the Athens final, and Benitez hopes the five key squad members will sign extensions in the near future.
"We have had some conversations with four or five players," the Spaniard told reporters ahead of Liverpool's game against Fulham on Saturday.
"We decided to stop talks briefly because we were playing in the semi-final of the Champions League.
"But we are talking again and hopefully can agree something before the final happens.
"The players already have contracts but we told them we want to do the deal and we are really close (to agreeing terms)."
Meanwhile, Benitez has rejected criticism from outgoing academy coach Steve Heighway.
Heighway claimed Benitez was having a detrimental impact on the club's youngsters by taking too much involvement.
"I was working for 10 years with Real Madrid and we had 40 players go on to play Premier League football in Spain, so I have some experience," Benitez responded. -
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settle this before our big match
