Inter Striker Diego Milito Confident Of Javier Mascherano Arrival From Liverpool

The Argentine wants his friend and compatriot in Milan...

By Subhankar Mondal

Jul 18, 2010 12:34:00 PM

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Javier Mascherano (Getty Images)

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Javier Mascherano

Inter striker Diego Milito has said that he is confident of the arrival of fellow Argentine Javier Mascherano to the blue-and-black half of Milan.

The Liverpool midfielder has been heavily linked with a move to the Italian and European champions and Reds manager Roy Hodgson admitted last week that Mascherano wasn't picking up his calls.

Inter striker Diego Milito, who helped the Nerazzurri win the Champions League last season, has supported the move of Mascherano from Anfield to the San Siro.

"We are very excited about Mascherano joining us at Inter," the former Genoa forward is quoted as saying in the Daily Star Sunday.

"He has made it clear he wants to be here and it's just down to the relevant people agreeing the deal now.

"In my view we are getting the very best defensive midfield player in the world and Maradona calls him one of the three most important players in the Argentina squad along with Lionel Messi and (Carlos) Tevez. That's how highly he is regarded."

Milito continued, "I think it's unrealistic of Liverpool to think they can keep hold of Mascherano when they can't even offer Champions League football and are not challenging Manchester United and Chelsea for the Premier League title.

"The boss and Mascherano have a good friendship so there were no other clubs on the cards for him after that, including Barcelona. He has wanted to join for a while but when the boss joined Inter I think that sealed the deal.

"Rafa has already made it clear that he wants another season like Jose had with us last season. Javier is a natural-born winner.

"He'll relish being at a club where he will win top honours.

"I think it will be hard for Liverpool to hold on to the top players, including (Steven) Gerrard and (Fernando) Torres, but that is not my concern."

The Argentine international also said that he would love to play alongside compatriot Carlos Tevez at Inter, but admitted that it is unlikely to happen this summer.

"I would like Tevez to join us as well but I don't think that will be possible this summer.

"Manchester City are in a position where they don't have to sell, but Carlos has told me he would like to play in Italy in the future."

Inter striker Diego Milito says that he is confident of the arrival of fellow Argentine Javier Mascherano to the blue-and-black half of Milan.

The Liverpool midfielder has been heavily linked with a move to the Italian and European champions and Reds manager Roy Hodgson admitted last week that Mascherano wasn't picking up his calls.

Milito, who helped the Nerazzurri win the Champions League last season, supports the move of Mascherano from Anfield to the San Siro.

"We are very excited about Mascherano joining us at Inter," the former Genoa forward is quoted as saying in the Daily Star Sunday.

"He has made it clear he wants to be here and it's just down to the relevant people agreeing the deal now.

Milito continued: "I think it's unrealistic of Liverpool to think they can keep hold of Mascherano when they can't even offer Champions League football and are not challenging Manchester United and Chelsea for the Premier League title.

"Rafa has already made it clear that he wants another season like Jose had with us last season. Javier is a natural-born winner. He'll relish being at a club where he will win top honours.

"I think it will be hard for Liverpool to hold on to the top players, including [Steven] Gerrard and [Fernando] Torres, but that is not my concern."

The Argentine international also said that he would love to play alongside compatriot Carlos Tevez at Inter, but admitted that it is unlikely to happen this summer.

"I would like Tevez to join us as well but I don't think that will be possible this summer.

"Manchester City are in a position where they don't have to sell, but Carlos has told me he would like to play in Italy in the future."