Israel Saria
Torres (left) and Gerrard are key players for Liverpool
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Liverpool manager Roy Hodgson has declared the club are not going to sell captain Steven Gerrard and Spanish international striker Fernando Torres.
Hodgson has held talks with duo and said: “Steven Gerrard is not for sale – I made that clear to him.”
On Torres, he added: “He is not for sale and we don’t welcome any offers for him. We want to keep him.”
However, Hodgson has tried without success to contact midfielder Javier Mascherano to discuss his future.
“I have left him voice messages and sent him texts but had no reply,” said the new Anfield boss.
“To be fair to him, that’s not unusual because he’s had a tough World Cup and I believe he’s gone back to Argentina.
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“It’s not always easy to get in touch with people. I have tried to reach him to make clear I am happy to talk with him at his convenience.”
Torres picked up a thigh injury in his country’s World Cup final win over Netherlands on 11 July and is expected to be out for about three weeks.
Hodgson met with him ahead of the 26-year-old, who has been linked with a move away from Anfield, going on a holiday following his exertions in South Africa.
“I have met with Fernando,” he confirmed. “I found him to be a very pleasant man and we had a nice conversation.
“As far as we are concerned, he is a Liverpool player and we want him to remain a Liverpool player.”
He added: “My conversation with him was only short because I had to leave to come to the training camp in Switzerland.
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I told him (Steven Gerrard) I supported the club’s policy that we don’t want to sell our best players and have to start building again
Liverpool manager Roy Hodgson
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“We spoke about football, the World Cup, his injury, and I told him how much I am looking forward to working with him.
“Christian Purslow [Liverpool managing director] was also at the meeting and chatted to Fernando for a lot longer after I left but my chat with him was only about football matters.”
Liverpool finished seventh in the Premier League last season as they failed to qualify for the Champions League.
Their poor campaign and the club’s financial state, which sees them up for sale and believed to be in debt to the tune of about £350m, resulted in speculation concerning the futures of Gerrard, Torres and Mascherano.
But, despite admitting a “disenchanted” mood within the squad since taking over after the exit of former Reds boss Rafael Benitez, Hodgson is determined to keep his key players to restore Liverpool’s on-pitch fortunes.
Gerrard, 30, would be pivotal to his plans and Hodgson said: “I have met with Steven and thought the talks were positive.
“We are in a situation where we hear our players are being courted by other teams but it is all just rumours.
“What we haven’t had is a club wanting to buy Steven Gerrard.
“I told him I supported the club’s policy that we don’t want to sell our best players and have to start building again.”
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