Rafael Benitez has valued England striker Peter Crouch at €19 million and has revealed that he has held talks with Aston Villa boss Martin O'Neill over the possible transfer of midfielder Gareth Barry to Liverpool.

Benitez has also confirmed that Harry Kewell will leave Liverpool after the club could not agree terms on a new contract with the Australian.

The Spaniard accepts that Crouch could have his head turned after a frustrating season when he has found first-team chances hard to come by - but he insists he will not be leaving on the cheap.

"Crouch wants to play every week but knows he must fight it out with Fernando Torres," Benitez said. "We keep seeing Portsmouth linked with the player but we have had no offer as yet.

"A £15m price tag would not be unreasonable."

On Kewell's departure, Benitez added: "We have tried to come to an agreement with the player and his agent, but that has not been possible.

"Kewell will leave the club at the end of his contract."

It is believed that Kewell has rejected a new deal on reduced wages.

Benitez also explained further the pending saga over Barry, and revealed that nothing more will happen until after this weekend's closing round of league matches.

"I have spoken to Martin O'Neill, he knows my ideas," he said. "But we agreed to wait until the end of the season for any more discussions."

Benitez has also seen coach Alex Miller leave the club to take up a management appointment in Japan with JEF United Chiba.

He said: "We have some names to consider and will make an appointment soon."

Former Liverpool assistant Sammy Lee, sacked earlier this season as boss of Bolton, is an early frontrunner to replace Miller.

The manager also hinted that the boardroom battle between the two American co-owners could soon be over.

He said: "All I can add about the boardroom situation is that I am in contact with both of them (co-owners Tom Hicks and George Gillett) and we are trying to progress with different issues that we have.

"I do not know exactly everything about shares, but in terms of what is my responsibility, we are progressing and I am doing my job.

"Everybody knows the club needs to be well organised and everybody knows what they have to do. Who will be in charge? Maybe the final solution will be soon."

Benitez added: "We work like I did before. If I have any ideas about signing players I tell them, the owners, and also Rick Parry (chief executive), and if they say yes then we progress.

"Normally I do not ask about difficult things, normally they say yes, both of them say yes.

"I want transfer business to be done as quickly as possible. If you sign a player at the end of July you do not have much time, it is better to sign players as quickly as possible."