Brendan Rodgers has said Chelsea’s capture of Mohamed Salah was “difficult to take” and he will be disappointed should Liverpool fail to strengthen their Champions League-chasing squad before the transfer deadline.

The Anfield club have not added to their ranks in the January window and lost out on their main transfer target when Chelsea gazumped an offer for the Basel winger Salah. The Egypt international joined Jose Mourinho’s side for an initial €14.5 million, with Liverpool, who had held extensive talks over the 21-year-old, refusing to increase their valuation of the player. Willian also joined Chelsea this season after Liverpool had moved first for the Brazilian forward.

Rodgers has kept Liverpool in Champions League contention all season but stressed a need for reinforcements plus concern at the impact of injury on qualification hopes before the transfer window opened. Those fears are being realised with Lucas Leiva, Glen Johnson, Daniel Agger, Mamadou Sakho and Jose Enrique all ruled out of the Merseyside derby against Everton tonight and Joe Allen a major doubt.

The Liverpool manager is part of a transfer committee that the owners, Fenway Sports Group, installed at Anfield and said on Salah: "The club did everything they felt they possibly could to get a deal but it wasn't to be." Asked how Liverpool decided on their valuation of the winger, Rodgers replied: "That's for the money guys to say that. It's the construction of the whole deal, not only with the player and the agent but also Basel as a football club. It was deemed in this case that we couldn't do a deal and Chelsea could. So the boy has gone there."

Identify players
He added: "That's something that is out of my control. We can identify the players that we want to bring in and we hope we can get them in. If we can the club will do everything possible to match the value of the player. If they end up going to another club that is difficult to take. But you can't worry about it, you've just got to keep looking forward."

Rodgers’ explanation partly contradicted that offered by Ian Ayre, the managing director, as to why Liverpool missed out on the Egyptian. Speaking earlier at the launch of a two-year commercial deal with airline Garuda Indonesia, who will sponsor Liverpool’s training kit and remain the club’s official airline partner for €19 million a year, Ayre said: “We haven’t been held back from concluding a deal, it would be wrong to say that. The player decided he didn’t want to come to Liverpool.

“We know what the value of the player is and how far we were prepared to go.”

Roberto Martinez has described Leighton Baines’ decision to sign a four-year contract at Everton as a mark of confidence in the club’s Champions League prospects. He could be without 11 first-team players when trying to enhance those top four claims at Liverpool tonight, however.

Baines has drawn a line under Manchester United's pursuit of the England international by committing his future to Goodison Park until 2018. The 29-year-old had only 17 months remaining on his deal and talks on an extension had dragged on from last summer amid David Moyes's interest in a reunion with the left-back at Old Trafford.

Injury crisis
Martinez announced the agreement to give Everton a Merseyside derby lift following the loss of Bryan Oviedo to a broken leg in the FA Cup win at Stevenage on Saturday. The Everton manager is facing a severe injury crisis at Anfield, particularly in defence, but believes the Champions League potential of his team was instrumental in convincing Baines to stay. "You want players who want to play Champions League, so for Leighton to stay at Everton and give us the best years of his career is very significant in that respect," Martinez said.

Oviedo had surgery on a double fracture of his left leg yesterday yet the World Cup remains a target for the Costa Rica international. “There is a broad timescale on his recovery but it could be five to six months depending on how the operation goes and whether there are any complications,” Martinez said.

Oviedo joined Darron Gibson and Arouna Kone as long-term absences, while Phil Jagielka, Sylvain Distin, Seamus Coleman, Antolin Alcaraz, Steven Pienaar and Ross Barkley are doubtful for the 222nd Merseyside derby.
Guardian Service