Summer Targets

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Brendan Rodgers has reiterated his desire to strengthen the squad with quality players this summer and with the possible departure of Luis Suarez we could be in for a very busy few months. There is definitely room for improvement and with the retirement of Jamie Carragher and a leaky defense last year, the defense will be main priority.  That has been shown to be the case with the signing of Premier League veteran Kolo Toure to add experience and depth to the back line.

Goalkeepers

Peter Gulasci has already left the club and there has been persistent rumors of Pepe Reina moving to Barcelona. We certainly lack all depth, with Brad Jones being a very weak number two who offers no competition for Reina. Without Reina leaving I expect little goalkeeper activity, but if he does leave then there are two names which have been constantly mentioned, they are Sunderland’s Belgian shot stopper Simon Mingolet and Stoke Citys’ Asmir Begovic. Both player would cost around £10million and would be great additions, both would be reluctant to be understudy considering its a World Cup year.

Center Backs

Overhaul required in my opinion, Carragher has retired, Skrtel is inconsistent and Sebastian Coates has shown no sign of the great promise he was signed on. Kolo Toure has been brought in to add depth and experience, I think another center back will be defiantly signed and another depending on the sale of Skrtel. The constant name being mention is the physical presence that is Kyriakos Papadopolous, the young Greek is currently at Schalke 04 and could cost around £12-14million. His a very powerful player with a strong presence in the air, but he fits the Rodgers mold he can also play it on the ground.  Another player who a deal for could be really close is Sporting Lisbon defender Tiago Ilori who at £3-4million would be the a great signing for the future. A few months I wrote an article on the possibility of Toby Alderweireld, but speculation has died down and his similarities to Agger have maybe dettered Liverpool’s attentions to Papadopolous.

Midfield

Liverpool’s midfield in my opinion is one quality signing away from being the perfect balance with defensive strength and power and that attacking potency. With Lucas and Gerrard almost guaranteed spots in the starting 11, that third spot is crucial and Henrikh Mkhitaryan could be that player. He is defiantly potent scoring 31 goals in 5o appearances last season, playing that creativity and goalscoring a little further back he could be just what we need. At £22million he certainly dosn’t come cheap, but when you look at the inflated £34million Manchester City paid for Fernandinho it isn’t so bad for a player being described, ‘one of the last footballing gems to be undiscovered by the world’. Christian Eriksens’ name has been floated about for a while now and for a price of around £12-15million he is a bargain and a player with heaps of potential as well as proven talent. At Ajax he has made a name of himself as one of Europe’s brightest prospects, but with a year left in his contract its time for him to move to one of the bigger leagues. Borussia Dortmund are touting him to replace Mario Goetze but Liverpool need to act quickly if they want the 21 year-old Dane partnering Gerrard next season.

Attack

Iago Aspas is near enough a done deal, being described as a ‘poor mans Luis Suarez’ at only £7.7million he can either adapt quickly and be a great goal scoring threat or on the other hand be a flimsy addition whom impact doesn’t go any further than warming the bench. Today the twitter feeds have exploded with Luis Alberto and a apparent deal of around £6.8million to bring the exciting young Spanish attacker to Anfield. As of yet unproven in any top flight, last season he played for Barcelona B where he scored 11 and assisted 18, statistics which we would love to see for Liverpool. At £6.8million he is certainly a calculated gamble, hopefully if we sign him he could be 2013/14’s Coutinho.