With Joe Cole and Steven Gerrard on board, now for Torres and Mascherano to decide. What does the future hold for Maxi?

The arrival of Joe Cole is absolutely massive and somewhat of a surprise. Not many expected him to move further north than The Emirates or White Hart Lane and it was only last Saturday when Hodgson confirmed he'd held brief talks that the excitement started. Bookmakers had stopped taking bets on him joining Liverpool earlier in the day but then again, if that was taken as a given the transfer would go through, then we would have seen Thierry Henry and Franck Ribery playing in a red shirt over the past couple of years.

Obviously Arsenal and Tottenham were favourites, Cole is a London boy who has spent his career there, plus the added lure of Champions League football is something Liverpool cannot offer. Wages were an issue, with Tottenham having an existing structure they were reportedly unwilling to break whilst both clubs have other quality creative midfielders. The likes of Nasri, Rosicky and Arshavin or Kranjcar, Modric and the rejuvenated Bentley would have all got some playing time at the expense of Cole whilst he is seemingly a shoe in for a spot in the Liverpool side. The former Chelsea player has always maintained that lack of guarantees over playing time was the reason why he left West London and, at the age of the twenty eight, is a more understandable reason to move to Anfield rather than a hefty pay cheque.

The reported £90,000.00 per week is a lot of money, of that there is no question, but the deal as a whole is exceptional value for money. Basically Liverpool have swapped Yossi Benayoun for a younger, more talented English version and £5m. Benayoun was a good player for Liverpool, probably better than most expected when he was unveiled along with Ryan Babel in 2007 and over the last two years has been more effective for the team he's just departed than Cole has for his. The main issue is who will be more effective for their respective new sides over the coming years and, if their new number ten stays fit, Liverpool will be confident that they got much the better deal.

That was Monday's news and by Tuesday supporters were even more thrilled when their captain appeared to commit himself to the club. Since he was on the verge of joining Chelsea in June 2005, there hasn't been so much concern over his future as there was before he stated that he couldn't wait to play alongside Cole in the red of Liverpool. Every year there is speculation over his future, if a player is that good and don't play for Barcelona or Real Madrid already, they will more often than not be linked with the La Liga giants. With Gerrard, 30, coming into his last years at the very top, coupled with Liverpool seemingly as far from a serious title challenge as ever before, it was getting more likely that he would finally link up with Jose Mourinho, with supporters reluctantly reasoning that a £30m plus fee would be fair for a player of that age who has given his entire career to Liverpool.

As it is, it looks that he is staying and that is absolutely fantastic news for everyone connected with the club. Now for Fernando Torres.

Hodgson admitted after the defeat to Kaiserslautern that Christian Purslow knows more about the Spaniards situation than he does, which shows there is still doubts in his mind over his future. As the striker has been in talks with Purslow over the last few days, there still seems to be a lot of work to be done if the club still doesn't have a definite decision on his future. It would be a great disappointment if he decided to leave after the highs of the past week, but the sooner it is sorted the better, as two forwards would have to be recruited, ideally before Arsenal on the 15th.

Javier Mascherano's future seems clearer with it looking more likely that he would have played his last game in Liverpool colours. It is obvious that he is not happy at the moment, but probably more with living in the country rather than playing at the football club. It is well known that his wife cannot speak English and he has stated that aside from playing and training he barely leaves his house. The Argentinian captain also revealed he was learning Italian during his time in South Africa so not many will be surprised if he links up again with Rafael Benitez at Inter Milan.

With Mascherano likely to follow Emiliano Insua out of the exit door, that could cast a doubt over other Argentine Maxi Rodriguez. Maxi was one of the few bright spots towards the end of last season and said how much it helped him having his fellow countrymen with him. Rafael Benitez never had too many successes with low fee transfers, but Maxi was an absolute steal. An intelligent footballer who impressed more with every game, it will be a shame if Liverpool fans have seen the last of him after such a short stint. There are no rumours of a potential departure as of yet, but if his two close friends are no longer there, he might be thinking twice about sticking around, and there won't be a lack of takers.

Roy Hodgson knew when he took over that he had a big job on his hands even before the season started. Securing Joe Cole was a huge bonus to the boost that Steven Gerrard looks like he wants to stay and the priority is now keeping Torres. A lot will happen before the end of the transfer window but if there are more weeks like the one that has just passed, then the 2010/2011 might not be as bad as first feared.