Rafael Benítez has turned to Tom Hicks for support as he struggles to revive his bid to sign Gareth Barry from Aston Villa. The Liverpool manager still hopes to sell Xabi Alonso and to recruit Barry, whom he has pursued since April, but continuing tensions behind the scenes at Anfield have led him to bypass Rick Parry, the chief executive, and go directly to Hicks, once his fiercest adversary, in the hope of finding a breakthrough.

BenÍtez briefly considered resigning after Hicks and George Gillett Jr, the co-owners, vetoed an earlier agreement with Villa over an £18 million deal for Barry. The manager’s long-term future remains precarious unless he can reach an understanding with Parry and the owners over a transfer strategy, but, as he refuses to give up on Barry, BenÍtez has pleaded with Hicks to support him in his pursuit of the England midfield player.

Alarmingly for BenÍtez, perhaps, Hicks and Gillett, having been at odds with each other for much of their 18-month tenure at Anfield, now appear to be united on this and certain other matters – a development that some at the club believe to be a short-term marriage of convenience as they look to secure their asset before resurrecting plans to sell.

BenÍtez has identified Hicks as his most likely ally in the continuing power struggle. “I was talking to Tom Hicks and he told me we have the money,” BenÍtez said after his team opened their Barclays Premier League campaign with a 1-0 win away to Sunderland on Saturday. “I was in contact with one of the owners [Hicks]. He was answering me. He was clear that we had some money and that, if we sell some players, we can buy some.”

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In order to finance a renewed bid for Barry, whom the owners consider overpriced, BenÍtez is prepared to sell Alonso, even though the Spain midfield player’s market value may have dropped since his participation in a Champions League qualifying match away to Standard Liège last week, which rendered him ineligible to play for another team in the competition. BenÍtez is also prepared to sell Steve Finnan, Jermaine Pennant, who is attracting strong interest from Blackburn Rovers, and Andriy Voronin, the Ukraine forward.

Alonso impressed as a substitute against Sunderland, but BenÍtez still plans to sell him, although neither Arsenal nor Juventus are willing to match BenÍtez’s valuation, which remains in the region of £16 million.

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