Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp has been taken to Reds’ fans hearts immediately upon his arrival to English football with the charismatic German expected to take the Merseysiders to that next level for a sustained period unlike Brendan Rodgers.
Having only suffered a single defeat to Crystal Palace in his fledgling Reds tenure at the time of writing, Klopp has made Liverpool difficult to beat with his standout result coming down at Chelsea despite the Blues enduring a hugely disappointing season.
Klopp has of course had to work with what Brendan Rodgers left behind with the likes of Divock Origi playing more of a leading role due to injuries up top in the German boss’ first few games in charge.
But with the former Borussia Dortmund coach now having been in the job for just over a month, he would’ve gotten far more used to who he wishes to retain and who might just be making their way through the exit door in January.
Fully expected to be active in the New Year to bring in some of his own signings, many Reds transfer rumours have concerned players originating from the Bundesliga given Klopp will be that much more familiar with professionals he went up against in his management at Dortmund.
So with that in mind, we’ve devised five German-based stars who should definitely be on Klopp’s radar for the January window in under two months’ time.
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Click on the image below to reveal the five Bundesliga stars who should be on Liverpool’s January radar.
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Stefan Kiessling
Back at the start of November, The Express ran a story that claimed Liverpool were earmaking a January swoop for long-time Bayer Leverkusen hitman Stefan Kiessling.
Compared to the likes of Arsenal and Manchester United, Liverpool currently boast a lot of first team strikers on their books but with Danny Ings out for the season, Daniel Sturridge injury prone and Divock Origi in need of another loan spell, you can see why Reds fans might think they need another.
Kiessling might not be that Luis Suarez marquee type of forward that Liverpool supporters truly crave with the German now 31-years-old but the player has been a clinical goalscorer in Germany down the years, boasting a record of 123 strikes in 287 league appearances for Bayer.
Despite this heroic status, the arrival of the free scoring Javier Hernandez, not to mention Admir Mehmedi’s presence have rendered Kiessling not so indispensable nowadays so perhaps Liverpool should be taking advantage?
Neven Subotic
Although Klopp was swift to make the remarks that he won’t be raiding his former club Borussia Dortmund in the New Year, back at the end of October as reported by Metro, the Reds could still make a deal happen for Borussia’s Neven Subotic according to German football specialist Raphael Honigstein.
In the reports, the Bundesliga expert alluded to the fact that a deal for Subotic belongs in the ambitious category but still remains possible with the Serbian international no longer an automatic first choice selection at Signal Iduna Park.
Deemed perhaps as good as his partner Mats Hummels a few years back, surely Subotic is still as good, if not better than Liverpool’s current crop of Kolo Toure, Dejan Lovren and Mamadou Sakho so we think a cheeky call to Klopp’s former club wouldn’t go amiss.
Granit Xhaka
With Joe Allen deemed not good enough by a section of Liverpool supporters, Lucas Leiva not getting any younger and James Milner not being, well, Steven Gerrard, you can see why Reds fans crave another dynamic central midfield player.
Step forth Borussia Monchengladbach’s Swiss international star Granit Xhaka who is at the centre of rumours of a switch to either Liverpool or Arsenal this winter.
With reports claiming Klopp could sanction a £19.6 million bid for the 23-year-old, Xhaka is certainly a player that has been raved about a lot with many in the tavern having already heard of his name.
The Reds haven’t been shy in splashing these kind of fees in Brendan Rodgers’ tenure and with the likes of Ilkay Gundogan no longer being linked to Liverpool, perhaps Xhaka is a sound alternative.
Leroy Sane
If Liverpool fans thought their club’s attempts to sign Schalke’s Leroy Sane were getting difficult, they’re about to get a hell of a lot harder with Manchester United now also joining the race for his services according to The Telegraph.
Seemingly half of Europe are after the latest senior German international right now with the 19-year-old playing beyond his years this term with five goals already to his name.
The latest top talent at the Veltins Arena after both Julian Draxler and Max Meyer, Schalke have proved a tough nut to crack in negotiating deals for their top stars in the past but Liverpool are still continuously linked with the player.
To be quite honest, Liverpool have got it wrong with so many wingers down the years. You only have to take a look at Mark Gonzalez, Sebastian Leto, Stewart Downing and Milan Jovanovic to prove this but in Sane, he looks a fantastic addition not only for the here and now but the long-term future as well.
Timo Horn
There was quite a buzz around this particular Bundesliga star eleven days ago when The Express claimed the FC Koln player was being lined up as Jurgen Klopp’s first signature at Anfield.
The established number one at Cologne since 2012, hardly anybody at all has heard of Horn here in the tavern but one Reds punter jibes that he can’t be any worse than Simon Mignolet!
Compared to the other top dogs in the Premier League, Liverpool’s goalkeeping department is quite clearly not as strong but given Horn’s release clause currently stands at £6 million, he’d be a relatively inexpensive solution.
We wonder what Adam Bogdan would make of this though if Horn arrived as competition for current number one Mignolet.
