Liverpool make move for £4m Yossi Benayoun

By Charles Carrick

West Ham midfielder Yossi Benayoun will today complete a £4 million move to Liverpool.

Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez has made no secret of his admiration for the 25-year-old Israel captain who he has been tracking since the end of the season.

"It's clear he'd like to come and he's a player I like," said Benitez.

Benayoun moved to Upton Park from Racing Santander in a £2.5 million deal in 2005. He has played 72 games for West Ham, scoring eight goals.

Meanwhile, Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard has warned that they cannot afford another slow start to the season if they are to mount a serious Premiership challenge.

Though they have finished third behind Chelsea and Manchester United in the last two seasons, Liverpool were never in real contention. "I've heard it said before that you can't win the League in the first 10 games, but you can lose it. That's definitely been true in our case," Gerrard said. "You can't give teams like United and Chelsea the kind of head starts we have. This year it's essential we get off to a flier.''

Liverpool's ambitions have been boosted following the takeover in March by Americans George Gillett and Tom Hicks who have made substantial funds available to Benitez. Last week, the club paid a record £24 million for Atletico Madrid striker Fernando Torres. "Since I've been in the first team I can't remember us making such a major statement of intent in the transfer market as this," added Gerrard.

AC Milan, who beat Liverpool 2-1 in the Champions League final in May, received the most money from the competition last season, earning around £27 million. Next came semi-finalists Chelsea with £23.3 million followed by Liverpool on £21.6 million. The figures were issued yesterday by Uefa.

Sevilla, who won the Uefa Cup, picked up only £4.2 million.

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