Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher is hoping for a swift resolution to the Xabi Alonso transfer saga, but is keen for the midfielder to remain at the club.

Alonso's future on Merseyside has been the subject of intense speculation with Real Madrid reportedly interested in a £30million deal although boss Rafael Benitez has so far sidestepped the issue only going so far as to confirm the 27-year-old will remain a Red until after the second game of their Asian tour in Singapore on Sunday.

However, Carragher believes a decision on Alonso's future needs to be made sooner rather than later.

“The feeling within the squad, he is a top player and you do not want to lose your top players and hopefully it can be sorted out as quickly as possible,” he said.

“If the club thinks it is in the best interests of the club sometimes you have to do what is in the best interests of the club.

“But that's a personal matter for the manager and the club. I just hope it gets sorted out sooner rather than later.”

Alonso did not feature against Thailand in a pre-season friendly in Bangkok due to a slight ankle injury. Ryan Babel, who has been tipped by Benitez to play a significant role this season, opened the scoring for the visitors with six minutes gone at the Rajamangala Stadium and spurned two further chances to add to his tally before Sutee Sumsomkit levelled in impressive fashion midway through the second period to leave the Reds still searching for their first pre-season victory.

There was a further setback when Martin Skrtel limped off 10 minutes after coming on at half-time and while Benitez said it was too early to tell how long the defender could be ruled out for, it was an unwanted blow.

Despite being held by Peter Reid's team, Benitez was pleased with Liverpool's performance.

“We had some chances, we were playing against a team that was well organised, and they play quick,” the Spaniard said.

“So you come to a new continent and conditions are different, always more difficult, but I was pleased with the performance of some players.”