Although Liverpool fans are more than happy with the club doing some business early on in the summer transfer window, wrapping up six deals already, including the likes of James Milner, Nathaniel Clyne and Roberto Firmino, the most crucial elements of business still remain incomplete. Since the £75 million pound sale of Luis Suárez to Barcelona, Liverpool have not managed to replace the goal machine, with Rickie Lambert and Mario Balotelli failing to fill the void left by the Uruguayan, with both just recording three league goals between them last campaign. The writing seems to be on the wall for the two strikers, with the Merseyside club actively looking to move them on. Add this to Fabio Borini only netting one league goal all season, too, and England star, Daniel Sturridge, out injured for most of the duration, and it’s clear to see the importance for a new goal-scoring hero for the Kop to admire.
Crucial Reds Business Remains Incomplete
In recent weeks, the arrival of Danny Ings and return of Divock Origi, following his loan spell with Lille, has helped boost the Reds in their attacking department; however, it remains to be seen whether or not if they can settle down and hit the ground running. Whilst there will be a number of departures over the coming weeks, it’s the incoming striker that has fans most interested, with Brendan Rodgers needing to make sure he doesn’t fail in the market for a second successive season.
It appears the Reds boss has set his sights on Aston Villa’s hit man, Christian Benteke, who, whilst notching an impressive 49 goals in 100 games for the club, is still considered a questionable target for Liverpool, especially at the £32.5 million pound release-clause being touted. There is no doubt that the Belgian striker would be an improvement on the other strikers of late, but for the suggested fee, fans believe their side should be looking at the likes of Borussia Dortmund’s Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Lyon’s Alexandre Lacazette being suggested. However, convincing them would be a hard task for the club, without Champions League football to entice with. One thing is for sure: fans of the club will be hoping Rodgers can secure a top striker before the new Premier League campaign kicks off next month.
Another bit of crucial business that needs to be considered – and something that hasn’t been addressed since the arrival of manager, Brendan Rodgers, back in 2012 – is a defensive midfielder. Although the signing of German under-21 star, Emre Can, last summer may be seen as filling that role, his attributes and style of play makes him a more appealing central midfield option down the line. Whilst the club have acted fast, beating the likes of Arsenal to the signature of England midfielder, James Milner, there is a lack of defensive protection and steel in midfield, with Lucas Leiva being rumoured to be leaving throughout the summer; this is something that seriously needs to be looked at.
Adding a top quality defensive midfielder will help the leaking defence from last season, which helped to concede a woeful 48 goals and, at the same time, would allow new club captain, Jordan Henderson, and England colleague, James Milner, to push forward more and help with attacking. Fenerbahçe’s Mehmet Topal and Inter Milan’s Chilean tormentor, Gary Medel, have been names linked with the club of late, and, although these names might not be the most exciting for the fans, at least it’s a start. Maybe Rodgers has finally accepted the importance of needing a strong defensive midfielder throughout the side?
The question is, though, who would be a suitable target for the club to try to obtain for the upcoming campaign?
Finally, the on-going ‘will he go, won’t he go?’ saga of want-away rebel, Raheem Sterling, seems to have heated up over the past week with the winger failing to turn up to training for two days. The club claimed this was through illness, but Sterling had also refused to travel with the club on their pre-season tour of the Far East. However, the club have just officially announced that he has been selected within the squad, so it remains to be seen whether or not he does intend to stick to his guns and stay back at home. It appears that Manchester City are the only club with genuine interest in the player, following numerous bids being rejected of late, although, Chelsea are said to be watching the situation keenly, knowing the youngster ideally wanted to head back to London.
News broke on Friday night that the Manchester based club has been in contact with Liverpool over Sterling’s future and further submitted a bid of around £44 million. If reports are true, then it looks as if the club will reject the offer and let him rot in the reserves for the time being, after Sterling demanded a mighty £50 million. But, it would be financially beneficial for the club to get rid of the player now, who may also have a demoralising, heavily negative effect on team mates should he stay with the side.
Should Raheem Sterling exit Anfield this summer, there will be no doubt that Rodgers will be hoping another winger arrives, with names such as Real Madrid’s Denis Cheryshev and Barcelona’s Pedro also being linked. The latter would possess the ability to help push the Reds on to challenge for those all-important Champions League places and domestic honours once more.
If you had the choice of a striker, defensive midfielder and winger, who would you look to, and why?
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