Players for sale as Liverpool trim costs

London: Rafael Benitez may be forced to sell as many as four senior internationals in the January transfer window as he attempts to trim Liverpool's wage bill.

Ryan Babel, Andrea Dossena, Andriy Voronin and Philipp Degen will all be sacrificed should good offers arrive, although there are no guarantees Benitez can buy replacements.

The Spaniard has seen his team's Premier League and Champions League challenges falter under the weight of an extensive injury list, highlighting the paucity of resources available to him after two summers of little net outlay on the playing staff.

Depleted squad

Yet the financial restrictions at Anfield are such that Benitez will be forced to endure the last six months of the campaign with a squad depleted still further unless he can find suitable reinforcements on loan.

Napoli remain interested in Dossena, while Voronin remains well-regarded in Germany.

Degen could also return to the Bundesliga. Babel has admitted in the past he would consider a return to his old club Ajax to safeguard his World Cup place.

Crucial game

The Liverpool manager, though, will at least be able to count on Steven Gerrard, Glen Johnson and Daniel Agger for Saturday's crucial game with Manchester City.

Captain Gerrard has had a second injection on his groin. He said: "I'm feeling a lot stronger and now I just have to get my match sharpness back."