Agent expecting Aquilani to remain at Anfield

Aquilani, 27, has struggled to make an impact at Anfield since his move to the club back in the summer of 2009.

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The Italian midfielder was duly loaned out to Juventus last season when he was deemed surplus to requirements by then Liverpool boss Roy Hodgson.

In his first season at Liverpool, Aquilani was hampered by niggling injuries, preventing him from cementing a place in the first-team, and resulted in him falling down the pecking order at Anfield.

Further signings this summer by Kenny Dalglish means the Italian will again be playing catch-up, with Charlie Adam and Jordan Henderson likely to be preferred for the midfield berths.

Agent Franco Zavaglia had been hoping to engineer a move for his client to Italian side Fiorentina, but admitted earlier this week that there are unlikely to be any further developments on this front.

“Alberto has a major contract with Liverpool, and Fiorentina operate with certain economic parameters,” he explained.

“I don’t know whether the operation is feasible.”

Aquilani, who is contracted to the Reds until 2014, has rejoined his team-mates for pre-season training and has impressed in exhibition matches for Liverpool on their Asian Tour.

By Killian Woods

Gary Parkinson is a freelance writer, editor, trainer, muso, singer, actor and coach. He spent 14 years at FourFourTwo as the Global Digital Editor and continues to regularly contribute to the magazine and website, including major features on Euro 96, Subbuteo, Robert Maxwell and the inside story of Liverpool's 1990 title win. He is also a Bolton Wanderers fan.