RAFA’S UP FOR MATT
Sunday Mirror
RAFAEL BENITEZ is ready to launch a 5million raid for Birmingham’s Matthew Upson this summer.
The Liverpool boss is confident of luring the former Arsenal defender away from St Andrews.
Benitez will exploit a breakdown in contract negotiations to team him up with fellow England defender Jamie Carragher.
Upson will be in the final year of his contract at Blues this summer and is still waiting for Birmingham to honour the small-print of his existing deal and make him an new offer.
The contract he signed when he joined from Arsenal in January 2003 contained a clause saying he should be elevated to one of the top wage earners once he had played 60 League games.
Upson has completed 71 and been on the fringes of the international set-up for the last two seasons, but negotiations over a new deal appear to have broken down.
He is currently earning around 12,000-a-week, way below top stars like Emile Heskey and Muzzy Izzet, despite boss Steve Bruce insisting that a new deal is a formality.
The Blues boss said: "The negotiations are ongoing and we are trying to move towards a conclusion."
But Upson has grown increasingly frustrated with his inability to make a breakthrough into Sven Goran Eriksson's squad and friends believe he feels he may need to move to a bigger club.
A close friend said: "He is very ambitious and wants to go as far as he can in the game."