Benitez cool on Heskey deal as Reds looks to sell

Rafael Benitez has not indicated within Anfield that he is seeking to sign Emile Heskey to provide the attacking options which Liverpool have lacked this season. The Wigan player is out of contract in the summer, leading to suggestions that a return to the club where he scored 39 times in 150 games between 2000 and 2004 may be on the cards.

Benitez, who was unwilling last month to discuss reports linking the England international with Liverpool, does not appear to be coveting his signature. Neither does Portsmouth's Glen Johnson appear to be on his way to Anfield. Talks are believed to be progressing to extend his current Portsmouth deal by a further two years until 2013, despite suggestions that he may be ready to slot in as a new right-back at Liverpool.

Benitez has indicated that any business Liverpool complete will, like last summer, be dependent on selling first. Jermaine Pennant is the most likely individual to be on the way out of the club, but despite suggestions that he might return to the employ of Steve Bruce – his manager at Birmingham – in a £3.5m deal, no offer has been received. Though there is plenty of time for Wigan to table one, there are doubts as to whether either the salary or the status of the Lancashire club would be enough to entice him. These were the stumbling blocks last summer when Stoke and Blackburn were interested in securing his services and Liverpool were, again, prepared to sell.

Hull manager Phil Brown has also indicated that he would be keen to have Pennant at his club but that move looks equally unlikely for an individual who turned down a move to Juande Ramos's Real Madrid last month after the Spanish club were put off by his wage demands.

The other possible outcome for Heskey would be a move to Aston Villa, though there are some suggestions within the game that the kind of salary he would be expecting to command might make any such move a prohibitive one. Bruce believes Heskey must stay at Wigan Athletic if he is to prolong his international career and stand any chance of representing England at the World Cup in 2010.

Benitez's contract negotiations at Anfield are no nearer to completion though that is a product of his recuperation rather than any differences between him and the club. Though Liverpool have been unwilling to put a time frame on the issue, most personal terms are understood to have been agreed between the club and the Spaniard's representatives.