Catania have claimed that Liverpool are interested in their Argentine defender Matias Silvestre.

Catania star reportedly attracting interest from Reds and Villarreal

Staying put

Catania have claimed that Liverpool are interested in their Argentine defender Matias Silvestre. The versatile 26-year-old has been playing for the Serie A club for the past three-and-a-half seasons, having arrived in Italy from Boca Juniors in January 2008. His performances over the past 12 months have been particularly impressive and Catania general manager Pietro Lo Monaco admitted in April it was probably time for him to move on to a bigger stage. Lo Monaco has now declared that Liverpool are among the clubs chasing Silvestre's signature, along with Villarreal and a couple of Italian rivals. "Top of the list of those moving on is Silvestre," Lo Monaco told. "I'd struggle to keep him here, considering what a great player he is. There are two Italian clubs tracking him, but Liverpool and Villarreal are also interested in Silvestre. "Silvestre is worth as much as Thiago Silva and scores more goals."There is expected to be a lot of transfer activity in and out of Catania following Vincenzo Montella's appointment as head coach this week, but Lo Monaco would like to keep as many of the club's key players as possible. "As for Maxi Lopez, he will leave if there is a decent offer, otherwise he'll stay with us," explained the official. "Cristian Llama and Marco Biagianti are 100 per cent staying at Catania. "We turned down an offer for Mario Gomez from a European club. We're not sure about Taka Morimoto, but it's probable he will remain."