Danny Ings has all but completed his Anfield switch, but most fans consider the 22-year-old as a squad option rather than the man to score the goals we desperately lacked in 2014/15…
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Done Deal: Liverpool sign Danny Ings from Burnley, subject to medical
Ings will only cost us a compensatory fee, while our other summer acquisition James Milner signed on a Bosman – meaning we still have the entirety of our transfer budget to spend…
What this is, we don’t know, but it’s surely enough to bring in at least one big name in Brendan Rodgers’ search to finally go some way in replacing Luis Suarez…
These five have all been linked, but which would you rather, and are any of these actually a possibility?
Carlos Tevez – Juventus
The Argentine is a mercenary, and we won’t get years of loyal service from him, but just like Luis Suarez did – his work-rate and ferocious quality will make up for it. Italian publication Tuttomercato claim that we’re in pole position for the former Manchester United and City forward, who narrowly missed out on Champions League glory with Juventus on Saturday. We can’t really comprehend why they’d sell, but think if The Old Lady were prepared to, we’d be mad not to do everything we can to bring him to Anfield. Tevez is one of the most effective strikers in European football, still.
Alexandre Lacazette – Lyon
The goal-crazy Frenchman was only outscored in Europe’s top five leagues this season by two men: Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi. And nobody’s catching those two anytime soon in terms of goals… Lacazette is exactly the quick, powerful, prolific striker we desperately need – but signing him is going to be very hard. His club president Jean-Michel Aulas is demanding an astronomical fee for his services, and the player himself is demanding Champions League football… “Everything depends on the destination,” Lacazette said recently when quizzed on his future. “It would have to be for a Champions League club, you don’t reject them.”
Zlatan Ibrahimovic – PSG
We’re pretty sure the links to Ibrahimovic are total speculation, but his name is consistently being linked with a £10.9m move to either us or Arsenal – with one of either the giant Swede or Edinson Cavani likely to leave PSG this summer. Ibra is 33-years-old, and not known for his pressing or high intensity (leading many in the English media to incorrectly label him as lazy and overrated in years gone by…), but his quality is almost unrivalled. He can score beautiful goals at will, and often does so. His wages would be obscene, and there’s no guarantee that he would immediately settle in England, but should he decide to test the Premier League before he hangs up his boots, we should give him the option.
Gonzalo Higuain – Napoli
Higuain is a brilliantly natural finisher. He doesn’t posses the genius of the others in this list, but he’s just as clinical in front of goal, something we’ve badly missed in the absence of Daniel Sturridge through injury. The Argentine has bagged 53 in 102 since moving to Napoli two summers ago, and is basically guaranteed to get teams goals when deployed as a no.9. Napoli cannot offer Higuain Champions League football, which increases our chances of signing him – although Juventus have emerged as a potential suitor as well… If they get Higuain though, that might mean they’re willing to part with Tevez.
Theo Walcott – Arsenal
Although Benteke would command a £32.5m price-tag, he’s just not a household name, whereas Walcott, despite injuries, is. The Englishman has been most heavily linked to us as part of a swap-deal with wantaway Raheem Sterling. Walcott has mostly been used as a wide-man during his career with Arsenal, but he desperately wants to be a centre-forward, and we could offer him that. From that position, the 26-year-old notched four goals in Arsenal’s last two matches of the season. He’s technically not exceptional, but his pace and natural finishing mean he’ll boost our attacking options, massively.
