Alonso travels with Liverpool for Thai friendly

BANGKOK (AP) - Liverpool midfielder Xabi Alonso traveled with the team to its Asian friendlies on Monday amid intense speculation about his future.

Real Madrid and Inter Milan are thought to be interested in signing the Spain international, but Liverpool manager Rafa Benitez gave nothing away Monday when asked whether he expected to retain Alonso.

"Xabi Alonso is here with us, so he will be available," Benitez said. "The Spanish players, along with (Andrea) Dossena and (Javier) Mascherano, arrived a little bit late because they were in the Confederations Cup in South Africa. They will be here, and they will be playing, but not as much as (other) players."

Liverpool had been linked with a number of strikers and attacking midfielders during the offseason, including Valencia's David Silva, AS Roma's Alberto Aquilani and Aston Villa's Ashley Young, and Benitez held out the possibility of another big-name signing before the season begins next month.

"We have already signed (Glen) Johnson, an international from England, a good signing," Benitez said. "(Andriy) Voronin, coming back (from loan), was one of the best players in the German league.

"We have two good additions now, and you never know in football. We have some time."

Benitez, however, said Villa was not a Liverpool target.

Liverpool will play Thailand's national team on Wednesday before another friendly in Singapore. With no Champions League qualifiers for the coming season, the club will be putting more emphasis on its friendlies to prepare for the coming campaign.

Veteran defender Jamie Carragher said the team does not need to improve much to win the Premier League title, something that has eluded Liverpool since 1990.

"We took Manchester United very close last year," Carragher said. "We realize they and Chelsea will be back, maybe Manchester City now as well - there's a lot of competition.

"We had a very good season in the league last year, and if we can improve that by 1 or 2 percent, that might be enough."