SOCCER PREMIER LEAGUE:Blackpool V Liverpool: Venue: Bloomfield Road Kick-off:8pm: LIVERPOOL HAVE prepared a €12 million bid for Southampton's highly-rated teenager Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain as they attempt to rebuild for the future and to back Kenny Dalglish's pledge of support for Fernando Torres with action.

The 17-year-old son of the former England international Mark Chamberlain has made only 14 starts for the League One club but is regarded by many at Southampton, and Liverpool’s scouting department, as a better prospect than Theo Walcott was at the same age. Walcott’s current club, Arsenal, are Liverpool’s main rival for the signature of an attacking midfielder who has scored six goals this season, and the clubs hope to complete a deal in this transfer window.

Liverpool have not yet made an offer for Oxlade-Chamberlain, the second youngest player to feature for Southampton behind Walcott, but the club’s new owners, Fenway Sports Group, are willing to meet the south coast club’s €12 million valuation. FSG, advised by Liverpool’s director of football strategy Damien Comolli, want to invest in young and coveted talent, and the teenager’s arrival would serve as a statement of the new owner’s intent should he choose Anfield over the Emirates.

Anfield scouts view Oxlade-Chamberlain as one of the finest prospects in the country and, though he would likely be nurtured into the first team at Liverpool, the club are anxious to address the lack of support for Torres.

The club’s record signing has struggled for fitness and consistent form for over a year and often appeared disillusioned during Roy Hodgson’s reign. Dalglish, however, is confident he can lead Torres out of his prolonged slump and has told the 26-year-old to look no further than his own career for evidence that even world-class strikers are not immune to a loss of form.

Dalglish, who takes charge of his first Premier League game at Blackpool tonight, said: “Someone asked me if I had a magic wand for Fernando. I said I don’t need one, he has got one himself. He might be lacking a little bit of confidence, but he is still a top goal scorer and someone everybody fears when he goes on to the pitch.”

Steven Gerrard starts his three-match suspension against Ian Holloway’s side and Dalglish, whom Torres has cited as a role-model in the past, added: “It’s all about relationships between players and staff. I’ve got fantastic respect for Fernando, not only as a footballer but also as a person as well. When he signed for the club he really threw himself into learning about the history and the tradition of the club, he really soaked it all up.”

Meanwhile, Tottenham have agreed a deal in principle with Steven Pienaar, having beaten off competition from Internazionale and Atletico Madrid with a contract worth €84,000 a week over four years. It is unclear, however, whether the north London club will pay around €2.4 million to Everton this month to push the transfer through or wait until the summer when the South African midfielder would be available as a Bosman free agent.

David Moyes has said he would prefer to keep Pienaar for the remainder of the season, reasoning that forfeiting a transfer fee would be offset by the retention of a key player for the months ahead, particularly as Pienaar has continued to give his all for the club.Harry Redknapp has tracked Pienaar for some time and although the Tottenham manager would appear to be well stocked at left midfield, where he has Gareth Bale, he knows that Pienaar can play in a central role, which he does for South Africa while he also feels that he would be a viable alternative to Aaron Lennon on the right.

Redknapp’s move for the 28-year-old ought not to be interpreted as paving the way for Tottenham to cash in on Bale, who is a target for virtually every top club in Europe after his excellent calendar year of 2010.

While Tottenham continue to hold talks over a loan move for David Beckham, who trained with the squad yesterday, their interest in a second Everton player, the club captain Phil Neville, is unlikely to materialise into a transfer despite Redknapp’s desire to add the 33-year-old to his squad. Guardian Service