The 22-year-old Frenchman departs Anfield after being deemed surplus to requirements by new Reds boss Roy Hodgson.

Plessis did figure in Rafa Benitez’s first-team plans during his time on Merseyside, but even then was unable to hold down a regular role.

He managed just eight senior appearances for Liverpool in three years, scoring one goal.

Former France U21 international Plessis will now be hoping to reignite his career in Greece.

He has penned a four-year contract with reigning champions Panathinaikos and will be looking forward to testing himself in the UEFA Champions League against the might of Barcelona – who have been drawn alongside Pana in Group D.

Plessis should have no problem settling in his new surroundings as he becomes the fourth Frenchman to join the Athens-based giants.

He joins Jean-Alain Boumsong, Sidney Govou and Djibril Cisse on Pana’s books.

“Panathinaikos announces an agreement with Liverpool for the transfer of Damien Plessis,” read a statement released on the club’s official website.

“The player has signed a four-year contract with our club.”

The Brazilian midfielder’s days at the club appeared numbered after Palermo confirmed they had made a £3million bid and indicated a willingness to increase it.

But, while left-back Emiliano Insua may still go to Fiorentina, Hodgson feels Lucas’ improved form last season has earned him a place in his squad for the coming campaign.

Lecce, meanwhile, have made a £1m bid for Liverpool Hungarian striker Krisztian Nemeth, 21. Flamengo have also joined the race to sign reserve keeper Diego Cavalieri. Santos and Corinthians are also interested.

The 62-year-old is due on Merseyside to complete the formalities of signing a contract after the Reds agreed a compensation package in the region of £2million with Fulham for his release.

Cordial negotiations have been ongoing in the past 72 hours between Liverpool’s Managing Director Christian Purslow and Fulham Chief Executive Alastair Mackintosh and they have now reached a successful conclusion.

Though Liverpool – who have remained tight-lipped throughout their search to replace Rafa Benitez – were linked with a clutch of names, Hodgson was always the number one candidate.

Other names in the frame included former Real Madrid boss Manuel Pellegrini, Galatasary’s Frank Rijkaard and Didier Deschamps of Marseille, while Kenny Dalglish also made it clear he was desperate to take the job on.

Dalglish had initially been named as part of the recruitment process but he was desperate to have a second crack at the post he occupied between 1985 and 1991 when he felt his claims were as strong as the other candidates.

The board, though, were anxious to pursue Hodgson and Liverpool will be his 16^th job in a managerial career that has spanned almost 35 years.

His first post was with Swedish side Halmstads in 1976 and he enjoyed instant success, leading them to two Swedish titles; he would later coach Malmo after a brief stint with Bristol City.

Success in charge of the Swiss national team led to him being appointed Inter Milan manager in 1995 and the highlight of his time at the San Siro was an appearance in the 1997 UEFA Cup final appearance, which they lost on penalties to Schalke 04.

Hodgson’s first crack at the Premier League came later that year, when he took over at Blackburn, but things did not go according to plan at Ewood Park – despite qualifying for Europe, he was sacked in December 1998.

Stints with Udinese, the United Arab Emirates, Viking Stavanger and Finland followed before Fulham turned to him in December 2007 and he successfully led their battle to avoid the drop, which they did thanks to a last day with at Portsmouth.

After that, his time at Craven Cottage went from strength to strength and he enhanced his reputation while transforming Fulham’s fortunes, guiding them to their highest Premier League finish and an appearance in the Europa League final.

Now he has a fresh challenge and Hodgson, the LMA’s current Manager of the Year, will meet those Liverpool players who have not been at the World Cup tomorrow when they return for pre-season training.

It had been mooted that Hodgson, who is expected to bring his trusted assistant Mike Kelly with him to Anfield, would be favourite to become England manager if the Football Association decided to sack Fabio Capello.

However, it is understood the delay in Hodgson being appointed to his new role had nothing to do with him waiting to see what happened with England.

One of Hodgson’s first jobs at Anfield will be to ratify Yossi Benayoun’s move to Chelsea after the clubs agreed a fee in the region of £6m for the Israeli midfielder.

Source: Liverpool Echo

The Reds then travel to Manchester City to face Roberto Mancini’s Blues on 21st August, before hosting newly-promoted West Brom the following week.

Arch rivals Manchester United take on Liverpool at Old Trafford on 18th September, with the reverse fixture on Merseyside falling on 5th March.

Liverpool make the short trip to Everton on 16th October and the Toffees come the other way on 15th January.

Championship play-off winners Blackpool will be looking forward to a Boxing Day clash against the Reds at Bloomfield Road, while Bolton come to Anfield on New Year’s Day.

Liverpool will be hoping for a more successful campaign than last season, and they end with games against Fulham, Tottenham and Aston Villa.

The former Liverpool FC boss, who was today confirmed as the new manager at Inter Milan, handed over the cheque to Margaret Aspinall, chairwoman of the HFSG, as the rest of the committee watched on this afternoon.

In a low key visit to the group’s office, Benitez wished the group well and told them he hoped they would get the justice and the truth they are campaigning for.

Mrs Aspinall said: “It was just nice to know that he wanted to see us before he went.”

The Tottenham boss is much admired by Dalglish, who has been asked by the Anfield owners to find out who wants the job of replacing Rafa Benitez.

Redknapp’s stock has never been higher after leading Spurs to the Champions League, a triumph that ironically went a long way to getting Benitez the sack on Merseyside.

And Redknapp could be tempted away from Tottenham, with friends revealing he is upset that White Hart Lane supremo Daniel Levy has not approached him about a longer and improved contract.

However, there is also the lure of Liverpool, who have the kind of big-name history and glamour that Redknapp has always fancied – and at the age of 63 he is unlikely to get one of the established giants calling for him again.

Redknapp could have to uproot from his Dorset base – a domestic problem that has stopped him moving north in the past – but a two-year deal on top money may ease that pain.

And Redknapp can also count on his friendship with Dalglish to help open the door and make him welcome, with friends claiming he is willing to chase the job.

Dalglish is close to Redknapp and was trusted with taking on his son, Jamie, when he started out on his top-flight football career. The families have been tight ever since.

Redknapp was rated the top manager in England last season – with Fulham’s  Roy Hodgson also picking up a similar award – and Liverpool could not find a more experienced boss.

The only box he does not tick is his lack of success in Europe, but he has been at clubs where a run in those competitions has been a handicap.

Source: Liverpool FC Rumours

In what amounts to a vote of no confidence in the man who guided them to Champions League victory in 2005 on that unforgettable night in Istanbul, the Liverpool board approved a proposal to the Spaniard that would allow him to leave Anfield with a payoff worth about £3 million up front.

According to the terms of the five-year contract he signed in March 2009, Benítez is entitled to a £16 million severance package. However, given their financial predicament, Liverpool cannot come up with that kind of money, regardless of their desire to bring about a change of manager.

As such, the club’s hierarchy is hoping that Benítez will stand aside without demanding the windfall he would be due. Otherwise it will have no option but to allow him to continue in the role he has had since the summer of 2004 in the knowledge that he is no longer wanted.

Although Benítez has yet to accept the offer, the chances of a compromise were raised by indications from the 50-year-old that he would not be able to take the club any farther if, as expected, restrictions on transfer spending are extended into another summer.

Despite claims by Tom Hicks, the co-owner, last week that Liverpool are set to spend big in the coming months, the reality is that their transfer budget is limited to £15 million and there have yet to be any assurances that they will be able to reinvest the proceeds from player sales to any great extent.

Had Benítez received the guarantees he had been looking for during talks with Martin Broughton, the Liverpool chairman, in recent weeks, yesterday’s shock developments — broken exclusively on thetimes.co.uk — would not have arisen.

But with both parties unable to envisage a way of working together for the good of the club, a parting of the ways looks inevitable.

Such is Liverpool’s fiscal state — they recently posted record annual losses of £55 million and are saddled with debts totalling £351 million — Broughton was unable to offer Benítez the guarantees he was looking for.

After a desperately disappointing campaign, in which Liverpool finished seventh in the Barclays Premier League and failed to qualify for next season’s Champions League, the club’s hierarchy would not have been keen to extend the manager’s tenure anyway.

Inter Milan are ready to offer Benítez an escape route to Italy should he show any willingness to follow in the footsteps of José Mourinho, although Benítez’s agent, Manuel García Quillón, has insisted that the European champions have not made contact with his client. “I don’t know anything about Inter,” Quillón said. “No one has contacted me, it’s just speculation.”

Massimo Moratti, the Inter president, is monitoring Benítez’s position. On Monday he made his interest public when he told reporters that “I have always thought Benítez is a good coach, but he is linked with Liverpool”. Moratti will be encouraged by the fact that those ties appear to be loosening.

It would be difficult for Liverpool to find a top-class replacement for Benítez given that they cannot offer candidates a squad that is equipped for a title challenge or a substantial transfer budget to tempt them.

The situation is further complicated by the club being for sale and the Liverpool board may not be able to offer Benítez’s successor a long-term contract in case potential investors are not impressed by their choice. That could mean a temporary manger is the only viable solution.

It is against this backdrop that Real Madrid have raised the stakes in their bid to sign Steven Gerrard. The front page of Marca, the Madrid newspaper most associated with Real, carried a picture of the Liverpool captain yesterday and a story revealing that he is the No 1 transfer target of Mourinho, the new coach.

Although they are adamant that Gerrard is not for sale, Liverpool are bracing themselves for an offer, probably in the region of €30 million (about £25 million).

Source: timesonline

Despite three meetings with new Anfield chairman Martin Broughton, Benitez is still unsure if money generated from player sales will be made available to him for signings and remains wary of giving the go-ahead to deals that would see Yossi Benayoun, Ryan Babel, Albert Riera and Philipp Degen sold to foreign clubs.

Amid concern that it could take up to 18 months for Hicks and George Gillett to sell up as they hold out for £800m, and with Benitez’s own future still in some doubt, Liverpool are wide open to big offers for unsettled stars Fernando Torres and Steven Gerrard.

Both players have indicated they will wait until after the World Cup before making any firm decisions and incoming Real Madrid coach Jose Mourinho yesterday became the first to register his interest in Gerrard openly.

Benitez is desperate to keep hold of the pair, a feeling shared by the various factions that have emerged at Anfield as Liverpool have descended deeper into debt and internal chaos.

But opinion is split over whether it might make financial sense to cash in on at least one of the stars if it allows the club to make several new signings.

Moores was bought out by the duo three years ago after several failed attempts to sell the club to more financially powerful owners.

However, in that time the current co-owners have fallen out with both the fans and each other, while prompting serious concerns over the club’s debt and overseeing a woeful seventh-placed finish in last season’s Premier League.

In a letter to The Times, Moores insists he sold to Gillett and Hicks in good faith – following assurances about their financial status – but accepts “honest mistakes” were made despite him acting “in the best interests of the club”.

The lifelong Reds fan admits, however, he “hugely regrets selling the club” to the pair.

In his letter, Moores said their offer “was laid out in unambiguous terms … the document pledged there would be no debt placed upon the club, and significant funds would be made available for investment in the squad and the new stadium”.

He added: “I call upon them to stand back, accept their role in the club’s current demise, and stand aside with dignity.”