[Chase]

New Panathinaikos coach Henk Ten Cate is preparing to better Liverpool's bid for Espanyol's Albert Riera. Rafael Benitez offered ₤9million plus Sebastian Leto for the Spanish International.

Benitez has been told he has to complete sales before acquiring new players which explains his haste in trying to complete the Alonso, Riise and possibly Crouch deals this week.

But Ten Cate has made Riera top of his list and will beat Liverpools offer by at least a milliion as Espanyol are trying to raise as much as they can for a player that has decided to leave anyway:

"I'm not going to play for Espanyol any more," Riera said recently. "I don't want to play for a club where the fans don't want me."