The Argentina left-back looked poised for a 5-million pound (S$15 million) move to Juventus, but Liverpool boss Rafael Benitez is set to hijack the deal, reported The Sun.

Said Heinze, 29: 'I know some clubs are interested in me. My head is with the Argentina team to play the Copa America. After that and a holiday, I will know better where I will play next season.'

Juventus appeared to have beaten Real Madrid, Barcelona and Milan to his signature before Liverpool stepped in.

The defender is a cult figure at United. Two years ago, he was voted the fans' Player of the Season.

He battled back from damaged knee ligaments to play a crucial part in last season's march to the Premiership title, skippering the side on the final day when they were presented with the trophy.

But his position at Old Trafford has remained in doubt as Patrice Evra is United manager Alex Ferguson's first-choice left-back.

Clearly, Ferguson would prefer to sell Heinze to a foreign side, rather than a major domestic rival.

But, if Benitez is prepared to cough up the cash, he has every chance of pulling off another coup after agreeing a 27-million pound club-record swoop for Atletico Madrid hitman Fernando Torres.

The manager has remained guarded about the Torres deal.

But, after the first week of pre-season training, Benitez believes that his top target, a fellow-Spaniard, is within his grasp.

He said: 'We are working on new signings all the time. As I've already said, the spine of the team is in place and now we just need to add to that.'

His end-of-season desire for more youthful recruits is also taking shape.

He has signed 18-year-old Athletic Bilbao defender Mikel San Jose, Bulgarian Under-21 goalkeeper Nikolay Mikhailov, 19, and Hungarian youngsters Krisztian Nemeth, 18, and Andras Simon, 17, from MTK Budapest.

Two more 16-year-olds will be joining the Liverpool academy from abroad. They are Marvin Pourie from Borussia Dortmund and Alex Kacaniklic from Swedish club Helsingborg.