Liverpool boss Rafa Benitez has gone cold on the prospect of signing Real Madrid striker Ruud van Nistelrooy.
The Mail on Sunday says Benitez is now unlikely to move for Holland striker Van Nistelrooy in the transfer window, with the striker's recent injury record counting against him.
Van Nistelrooy would consider offers from Blackburn, Birmingham and Bolton in a bid to revive his career but has played only 141 minutes of football in the past year after a recurrence of his knee ligament injury.
He is desperate for a return to the Premier League because he wants to force his way into Holland's World Cup squad - and has no chance if he stays at Madrid, where he is now fifth choice.