David Villa could be set to link up with Spain strike partner Fernando Torres at Liverpool after manager Rafael Benitez admitted he would like to sign him.

The Reds boss said the Valencia forward, who finished as top scorer at Euro 2008 with four goals, "is on our list" but conceded that persuading the player's club to sell him would be "difficult".

With Peter Crouch on the verge of being sold to Portsmouth, Benitez believes he may be left short of options up front for the 2008/09 Premier League season.

And he has stated that Villa, whose form helped Spain to lift the European Championship trophy this summer, could be the perfect foil for Torres in a front two.

He said: "We have Torres, Andrei Voronin, Dirk Kuyt, Ryan Babel and Steven Gerrard, who can play as a second striker.

"But we will try to bring in another option.

"Villa is a player we know all about and he is on our list, but maybe it will be difficult."
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