Offensively
That attacking marquee signing we all desperately crave.
How it can be answered:
While many fans are upset about the potential signing of Willian to spurs and how the club has missed out on Henrik Mkhitaryan and Diego Costa already this summer, There is still time for the right player to come to the club. Now as a fan I would love to get a marquee attacking player by the end of the summer but the club shouldn\’t go wasting money on a player just for the sake of it, we have made improvements this summer and it isn\’t do or die if we don\’t spend(cough cough Arsenal). While an attacking player is needed we should buy the right player for the right price. Willian, while maybe the right player right now I think is overpriced and there are other options out there.
Leandro Damião is one option being mentioned recently. He is pretty tall so as well as creativity and Brazilian flare he could also be a aerial threat up front. He has decent international experience with Brazil, 17 first team caps to his name, but is not quite established in the Brazil squad so a move to Liverpool could benefit him as he would be a regular in Brendan Rodgers side.
Age: 24
Current club: Sport Club Internacional
Nationality: Brazilian
Position: Center Forward, Left Forward
Price: £20,000,000
Chances of coming: 30%
Christian Erickson has long been linked with the club but has also said he wants regular Champions League football. He would bring plenty of creativity and setting up the likes of Sturridge and Suarez and would be cheap because he only has a year left on his contract at Ajax.
Age: 21
Current club: Ajax
Nationality: Danish
Position: Center Attacking Mid
Price: £14,000,000-£16,000,000
Chances of coming: 25%
Will Hughes, while young and raw he has very, very high potential. The teenage wonder kid plays a little deeper in the midfield but could defiantly push up. The amount of skill he has would be enough to maybe put him straight into the side. Derby County obviously don\’t want to let him go but big clubs are knocking on the door and he is ready for a new challenge and with an aging Steven Gerrard maybe Hughes is the right man- excuse me, kid for the job.
Age: 18
Current club: Derby County
Nationality: English
Position: Right Mid, Center Mid
Price: £8,500,000
Chances of coming: 75-80%
Arda Turan is a big talent about to enter his prime. Turan is being rumored to be going to the Premier League with Chelsea and Arsenal also interested. Turan plays on the left side of the attack so would fit the bill of what Rodgers wants so that Coutinho can play in the central role behind the striker. Watching Turan in the Spanish super cup really impressed me in his speed, aggressiveness, and will to get back and help the defense. I\’m Not sure if he is a real target for Liverpool but he would be a beyond adaquate left sided player for the squad.
Age: 26
Current club: Atletico Madrid
Nationality: Turkish
Position: Left Attacking Winger
Price:£19,000,000-£22,000,000
Chances of coming: 30-35%
Defensively
A long term replacement for Martin Skrtel and short term replacement for the injured Sebastian Coates.
How it can be answered:
Last season Liverpool were shaky defensively with no one good enough to partner Daniel Agger. An aging, soon to be retired Jamie Carragher, Martin Skrtel who was obviously unfavored by Brendan Rodgers and way out of form, and youngsters who weren\’t quite ready for week in week out premier league football. With a replacement needed for a retired Carra, Rodgers did brilliantly with signing Kolo Toure on the free transfer. But there is still a need at The center of the defense. Now with Sebastian Coates out for 6 months with a knee injury it is collective agreement that a new CB is needed, and one who is in it for the long haul.
Tiago Ilori had been mentioned a lot early on this summer but rumors have died down since Liverpools bid of 3.5 million pounds had been rejected with Sporting Club Portugal saying they valued him at double that. He is a very exciting young player with lots of potential and good size and would be a good understudy and backup with the potential to be a starter this season.
Age: 20
Current club: Sporting Club Portugal
Nationality: Portuguese
Position: Center Back
Price: £6,000,000-£7,000,000
Chances of coming 65-70%
Kyriakos Papadopoulus is a big Greek center back who would bring a lot of physicality to Liverpool and a big talent as well. Papadopoulus has been linked with the club for a while now and while he seems happy at his current club Shalke I believe he would welcome a move to Liverpool. The Greek does come with a lot of injury concerns though as he got a knee injury in November of last year and didn\’t come back until the end of the season. He has a long list of other injures as well. He could be a big star with his talent but could also be a liability in the dressing room as he is very fiery and also a liability injury wise. Maybe Liverpool want to look at a loan deal before signing him permanently.
Age: 21
Current club: Shalke 04
Nationality: Greek
Position: Center Back
Price: £18,000,000
Chances of coming: 60%
Mamadou Sakho, the PSG want away has been linked with Liverpool for the past few weeks now is looking more and more likely to come everyday. The young french defender has been recently quoted saying he wasn\’t interested in moves to AC Milan or other European clubs but rather Liverpool because he feels he would get a chance to start and to play regular first team football on a world cup year. Sakho would provide great competition for Kolo Toure In the center of defense and a potential star at Liverpool with his strong body and quickness he would need to work on his on the ball skills but at 23 could definitely improve. He would also fit in with fellow Frenchman Aly Cissokho who just arrived on loan.
Age: 23
Current club: PSG
Nationality: French
Position: Center Back
Price: £8,000,000-£9,000,000
Chances of coming: 65-75%
Finally we have Toby Alderweirld who is a Dutch play making center back who plays in a similar style to Agger and could be his potential successor and maybe his partner for a while. Alderweirld has been linked with a host of clubs and has rejected a move to Norwich City saying he wanted to play for a big English or German club,(no offense to Norwich but they just aren\’t there yet). He is a regular at Ajax and like Erickson he has a year left on his contract at Ajax and is ready to go to greener pastures.
Age: 21
Current Club: Ajax
Nationality: Dutch
Position: Center back, Right or Left back
Price: £8,000,000-£10,000,000
Chances of coming: 45-50%
With a few new faces at the club we they can make a serious challenge for champions league football, And eventually become a English power house once again.