Liverpool have been installed massive favourites to sign Barcelona legend Javier Mascherano in the January window, according to the latest bookmakers’ odds.
Sky Bet priced the Merseyside giants at 6/4 on Thursday night to land their former midfielder, 33, before the window shuts on 3 February of next year.
Liverpool are a long way ahead in the betting of second favourites Juventus, who are a distant 16/1 to land the Argentina international.
Mascherano swapped Anfield for the Nou Camp back in 2010 and has gone on to have a hugely successful career in Spain.
The 141-times international has 18 months remaining on his contract, which expires in the summer of 2019.
OPINION
Mascherano would be a brilliant short-term option for Liverpool, and certainly an upgrade on all their current centre-back options apart from Joel Matip. The Argentine has been a mainstay of a brilliant Barcelona side under a string of different managers over the last seven years, predominantly in the defensive role that he was converted to by Pep Guardiola. His tenacity, energy, leadership and precise tackling is exactly what Liverpool need at the back, and he would be warmly welcomed back by fans who remember him as an integral member of the Rafael Benitez side that finished second in the league.