Liverpool are to offer Jamie Carragher a contract extension after the England defender impressed Rafael Benitez, reshaping the club's future with his consistent form this season.

The 27-year-old, who has two years to run on his current contract, won his 17th cap against Holland last week with Benitez subsequently claiming he was "the best centre-back in England. He's so consistent, a complete central defender".

His contract is now likely to be extended by up to a further three years with the Liverpool chief executive Rick Parry having indicated to Carragher's representatives, SFX, that the club are willing to enter negotiations. Benitez is steadily moulding his squad and has already offered Dietmar Hamann new terms. It is possible that he will now begin similar talks with Milan Baros, leaving only Vladimir Smicer and Igor Biscan of the first-team set-up out of contract in the summer and yet to open discussions.

James Beattie's three-match suspension will hand Duncan Ferguson one final chance to earn himself a new contract at Everton after his recent encouraging form on coming off the bench.

Ferguson, whose £34,000-a-week deal expires in the summer, has not started a Premiership game since scoring against Bolton Wanderers in early December, although he has been influential as a substitute in recent weeks. The Merseyside club had intended to release the Scot in the summer, though the forward's recent form has swayed David Moyes towards reconsidering that decision.

His thinking could be made easier should Ferguson capitalise on Beattie's absence for the forthcoming FA Cup fifth-round tie with Manchester United and the Premiership games against Aston Villa and Blackburn Rovers.

The 31-year-old is anxious to stay at Goodison Park despite being limited to just 40 starts by regular injury and disciplinary problems since returning to the club for £3.75 million from Newcastle five years ago.

Graham Poll, one of England's top referees, acknowledged yesterday that diving has become such a problem that officials have mistakenly turned down penalties this season because they suspected players were cheating.

Other spot-kicks have been incorrectly awarded when officials have been conned by a dive, including when Bolton's El Hadji Diouf took a tumble against Blackburn, and Poll admitted that the issue needs to be addressed.

"The problem stems from the fact that players are becoming very good at simulation," he told the UEFA website.

Graeme Souness, facing two UEFA Cup games and an FA Cup tie in a week that will shape his Newcastle United future, is not sure when his £8 million centre-half Jean-Alain Boumsong will play again. The Frenchman, who is ineligible for the UEFA Cup after appearing in it for his previous club Rangers, has completed only two of Newcastle's six matches since his transfer from Rangers due to a hamstring strain. He has now pulled up with a back complaint which saw him fly to Paris on Monday to visit an osteopath.

There is now a major doubt over Boumsong's participation in Sunday's FA Cup fifth-round tie at home to Chelsea. Newcastle fly to the Netherlands today and tomorrow face Heerenveen in the UEFA Cup's first knock-out round. The manager Graeme Souness is most likely to field Republic of Ireland international Andy O'Brien and Titus Bramble in central defence.

A definite starter, moreover, is Patrick Kluivert, the Dutchman who has had an underwhelming time on Tyneside but Souness said he rejected an offer from the Spanish league last month and now wants the Dutchman to start justifying his talent and wages.

"Osasuna did come in for Kluivert before the transfer window closed but we did not want to let him to go," Souness said.