Real Madrid want to resolve a deal for Liverpool midfielder Xabi Alonso inside the next fortnight.

PA Sport says the Spanish giants, who have yet to make an official bid for the midfielder, have set a time limit on their interest, according to sources close to the Bernabeu club.

Liverpool boss Rafael Benitez, having tied one midfielder, Yossi Benayoun, to a new two-year contract extension, will now be expected to decide Alonso's future before the player returns for pre-season training on July 19.

That is the day before Liverpool fly to the Far East for games against Thailand and Singapore.