Alberto Aquilani

Following Liverpool's horrendous start to the Premier League campaign at the weekend, there have been concerns that Brendan Rodgers' men could continue their struggles in Europe. However, Liverpool legend Graeme Souness disagrees with such views, claiming that the Reds will be far too strong for their opponents Hearts on Thursday night.

It would be fair to say that Liverpool struggled in their first leg tie in the previous qualification round of the Europa Cup, after only managing to scrape a 1-0 victory against FC Gomel. However, they did manage to perform much more successfully in the second leg and after recording a 3-0 win, expectations for the new campaign were high. Still, following the defeat to West Brom at the weekend, some supporters have doubted just how seriously Rodgers will take Europe with the club's league form clearly needing extra attention.

However, according to Souness, there shouldn't be any worries. Speaking to the media, the former Reds captain said, “I just feel Liverpool will have too much quality in too many areas and I think that will decide the tie. Hearts would need more than half the Liverpool team to have two off nights to have a chance. There is a gulf between the Premier League in England and the SPL in Scotland right now. Although Liverpool aren’t the force they were, they’re still arguably the second biggest club in England.”

It is already being reported that Rodgers will rest several players for the tie, with the likes of Steven Gerrard, Luis Suarez, Glen Johnson and Martin Skrtel supposedly not even traveling to Scotland. With Jose Enrique also still injured, Rodgers is likely to turn to some of the club's younger players, while Andy Carroll could also be called upon as the club try and take the advantage to the second leg at Anfield.

AC Milan has said that they have still not given up hope on the signing of Liverpool midfielder Alberto Aquilani, who spent one season on loan with the Italian club, according to the Liverpool news website. It was initially thought that AC Milan would not be interested in making the loan move permanent due to the presence of a number of midfielders at the club.

However, the exit of players like Gattuso and Clarence Seedorf has made them rethink their decision over the Italian. Alberto Aquilani has been a major disappointment at Liverpool ever since arriving at the club many seasons ago for around £ 20 million to play alongside Steven Gerrard.

It is thought that Liverpool were interested in cutting their losses by selling the midfielder for around £ 12 million, while AC Milan were preferred to pay only around £ 6 million. AC Milan were looking at the possibility of replacing the players like Clarence Seedorf and Gattuso with Mathieu Flamini.

However, the decision made by the former Arsenal midfielder to leave the club as well has put them in a tight situation. As a result, they have returned with the statement that they will not rule out a move for Alberto Aquilani. Liverpool's new manager Brendan Rodgers recently confirmed that he is prepared to give Aquilani a chance at Liverpool.

"Before August 31, another midfielder will arrive, it could be Aquilani or somebody else. We haven't spoken yet to Aquilani. He is a Liverpool player. The time has expired for Flamini and we have already told his lawyer that we will not wait any longer," said Milan vice-president Adriano Galliani. Mathieu Flamini came to AC Milan on a free transfer from Arsenal back in 2008, but has failed to establish himself as one of the regular first team players. As a result, he has decided to leave the club.

Aquilani has more than failed to match up to his £17million price tag that brought the midfielder to Anfield.

The Italian was signed with a string of injuries that kept him out of the Liverpool side for some time before being able to make his debut having to wait over 4 months for his first premiership start.

After a slow and disappointing start Liverpool were fast to ship the central Midfielder on loan in hope he would recapture his form. After loans to Juventus and then AC Milan this season Aquilani is set to return to troubled Liverpool alongside returning Joe Cole both who are out of favour at the Merseyside club.

Aquilani who has only made 28 appearances for Liverpool may now return needed more than ever. On arrival the central midfield at Liverpool was flush with talent, such as Xabi Alono, Gerrard and Mascherano, now however, substandard Shelvey and Spearing seem to play and transfer flops Henderson and Adams have also failed to live up to their promise.

It is of no surprise that Kenny Dalglish has been quick to announce that he would welcome the Italian back with open arms should he wish to stay at Liverpool. Milan do have the option to purchase the player for £6million as was part of the Loan agreement, it is likely that ‘The Reds’ will be hoping that the Italians don’t take advantage of this clause.

With some interest from a number of Italian clubs, Liverpool should use this opportunity to introduce the International back into the squad and give him one last chance to prove he is the quality player that he is. If Aquilani is still unable to perform next season then Dalglish should have little problem selling him in January.

Alberto Aquilani's agent has confirmed that his client will become an official AC Milan player provided he makes five more appearances for the Italian team from now till the end of the season.

The Italian international is currently on a season long loan deal till the end of the season from Liverpool.

However, he is expected to seal his exit from Liverpool once he makes the 25th appearance for AC Milan this season according to the clause inserted in his loan agreement. The 27-year-old was signed by Liverpool for £ 16 million back in 2009.

Aquilani has made 20 appearances for AC Milan this season. Out of the 20, 15 appearances have come in the league, while five have been in the Champions League. As a result, Aquilani needs only five more appearances to confirm his stay with AC Milan.

His agent, Franco Zavaglia, was more keen to stress the fact that Aquilani is very happy with life at AC Milan. Even though the player is currently injured due to an ankle injury – which has kept him out of first team action from January, he is expected to make full recovery and return to the first-team action within one week according to his agent.

"It's all written in the contract. Once Alberto has made 25 appearances for the Rossoneri, he will be a Milan player in all respects. He's progressing very well. I hope he can return in mid-March," agent Franco Zavaglia revealed in a recent press conference. The exact fee agreed between the two clubs should they intend to make the loan deal permanent has not been revealed. Aquilani has already spent a season on loan at Juventus, but they were able to reach an agreement with regard to the transfer fee for the player, who had cost £ 16 million in 2009.

AC Milan's on loan midfielder Alberto Aquilani has said that he has a £ 5.2 million buyout clause in his contract that would allow AC Milan to purchase the former Roma player for an extremely cheap price.

The Italian revealed that Liverpool had inserted a £ 5.2 million buyout clause should the player make 25 appearances for AC Milan during the season. So far, Alberto Aquilani has played in 13 matches for AC Milan, and considering that there is more than half of the season to go, there is a very good chance that Aquilani will be playing for AC Milan next season.

AC Milan have been extremely prudent in making the signings of in the last few years after running into financial troubles. The recent deals that brought Alexandre Pato and Robinho are perfect examples of it, while the deal that brought Zlatan Ibrahimovic back to the San Siro is probably the pinnacle of it.

Should it AC Milan sign Aquilani for £ 5.2 million, then it could even compared with the deal for Ibrahimovic given that the 27-year-old Aquilani has been immense for AC Milan this season. Aquilani spent last season and Juventus, but he has been much better this term and the prospect of signing him for less than £ 10 million will certainly appeal to AC Milan.

"There is a buyout fee set at €6 million [£5.2 million] and it is activated after 25 games," he stated to La Gazzetta dello Sport. I feel more assured. You can never say no to Milan. I have always had the hope of becoming a Rossoneri player. I did not expect to be bought by Juventus, the price set by Liverpool [€16 million] was too high. Juve was an opportunity and I have used it well," said Alberto Aquilani in a recent interview given regarding his future.