Speculation was rife on Friday that Liverpool are ready to renew their interest in Aston Villa striker Christian Benteke, much to the displeasure of a large percentage of our supporters.
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Despite the 24-year-old’s staggering £32.5m asking price and his indifferent form prior to the second-half of last season, reports in The Telegraph suggest that the Reds will make a £25m offer to test the water in the coming days.
There’s no questioning the fact that, despite all the business we’ve done already this summer, we still need a striker. But perhaps these five candidates would be more appropriate options than the big Belgian…
5) Nabil Fekir (Lyon)
Our chances of signing Alexandre Lacazette, which have always been remote, look to have disappeared completely now. However, we’ve not heard anything about his Lyon teammate. This 21-year-old, who is also capable of playing in an attacking midfield role, was the French league’s Young Player of the Year last year. He scored 16 goals and provided nine assists in total, with his performances enough to earn him his first French four caps.
4) Stevan Jovetic (Manchester City)
The Montenegrin international has never been able to fully establish himself at City, partly due to a succession of injury problems and partly due to the players ahead of him in the club’s pecking order. However, he showed flashes of potential last season, with his standout performance arguably coming against Liverpool in the second game of the campaign. He’s still only 25 and still has the ability to be one of the deadliest forwards in England.
3) Salomon Rondon (Zenit St Petersburg)
Rondon joined Zenit in January of last year and has enjoyed an excellent first eighteen months at the club, scoring 20 goals in all competitions last season to help fire his team to the Russian title. The Venezuelan international, 25, is known for his strength and power and would offer us something totally different at the top of our attacking line. He was one of three players linked with the Reds earlier this week, along with Roberto Firmino and Carlos Bacca.
2) Ciro Immobile (Borussia Dortmund)
The forgotten man at Dortmund last season, who struggled to make an impact after being brought in from Italy to replace Robert Lewandowski. The 25-year-old’s record is far more impressive than his numbers in Germany might suggest. He scored 22 Serie A goals with Torino two years ago, helping fire the minnows to a respectable mid-table finish and Europa League football last season. He managed 10 with Dortmund, although seven came in the cup.
1) Carlos Bacca (Sevilla)
The man everyone is currently talking about. The Colombian international has already scored 49 goals in just two seasons in Spain, including 28 during the most recent campaign. The 28-year-old found the net twice in the Europa League final, helping the club retain the trophy that they won twelve months earleir, and has since joined up with his country for their Copa America campaign. He’s scored seven times in 20 caps for the national team.
