When deciding on completing a gallery for the five players who Liverpool could end up regret not signing, we scrapped the idea simply because the Reds have indeed managed to get their hands on most of the players they were looking for this summer.
With James Milner, Danny Ings, Adam Bogdan, Roberto Firmino, Joe Gomez and Nathaniel Clyne already in the bag, most squad shortfalls have been addressed with perhaps a striker and an additional midfielder being the only remaining positions to strengthen.
That’s why we’ve decided upon completing a gallery to document five players who could represent this missing jigsaw piece for Brendan Rodgers to find before the new Premier League season kicks off for real in a month’s time.
The striker position is one in which nearly all Reds fans in the tavern want to see Rodgers strengthen with Daniel Sturridge’s fitness being anything but reliable, Mario Balotelli being a disaster, Rickie Lambert set to be sold at some point and both Divock Origi and Danny Ings perhaps requiring time to settle in at Anfield.
Thus it is important that Liverpool manage to get their hands on a top quality forward who’ll be able to hit the ground running while lessening the pain that Reds fans have suffered ever since selling the prolific Luis Suarez to Barcelona last summer.
The punters have come up with this five-man list of final jigsaw piece signings to conclude Liverpool’s summer business. Do you agree with their selections?
[ffc-gallery]
Click on the image below to reveal the 5 final jigsaw piece signings for Liverpool to seal this summer.
[/ffc-gallery]
Alexandre Lacazette
One man who most of Europe’s top dogs have been after this summer is Lyon’s Alexandre Lacazette who won the Golden Boot in Ligue 1 last season after striking an incredible 27 goals for Les Gones.
Linked heavily with both Arsenal and Paris Saint-Germain at the start of the summer, speculation regarding a transfer for Lacazette has died down in recent times but this past week, a report from The Independent claimed there could yet be hope for Liverpool with the player mulling over handing in a transfer request.
Rated at £28 million, if Liverpool did manage to beat the aforementioned pair to the French international’s signature, it would be some statement and a deal as big as the Roberto Firmino one in terms of prestige.
The one positive of Lacazette remaining at Lyon is that he can continue to stand out for a more modest outfit while sealing his place in Didier Deschamps’ France squad for Euro 2016 but according to the reports, it looks as if the player is keen on bettering himself while securing a transfer away from Stade Gerland.
Mateo Kovacic
Much earlier in the transfer window, there were lots of stories linking Inter Milan’s Croatian international midfielder Mateo Kovacic with a switch to Anfield.
However, like Lacazette, the rumours have dwindled in recent times but you never know, Brendan Rodgers could still be negotiating in the background.
Kovacic is a box-to-box midfielder who doesn’t score a great deal of goals but adds dynamism in a key area on the field.
Energetic and full of running power, some Liverpool fans still believe they need another dynamic midfielder added this summer with the jury still out on Joe Allen and Emre Can perhaps needing to be dropped in and out of the team over the course of 2015/16.
Christian Benteke
With top quality strikers a rare commodity this summer, Christian Benteke is surely set to be one of of the most sought-after players as we reach the latter end of the summer transfer window.
Impressing at Aston Villa ever since arriving from Belgian football, Benteke endured a poor FA Cup Final but despite that, English football fans know what he’s all about with the striker boasting a sheer physical presence, not to mention a clinical nature in front of goal when on song.
While it appears that some Liverpool fans are against a move for Benteke who would be another Andy Carroll-type forward with Rodgers’ sides not playing to big strikers’ strengths, it seems Reds legends such as Robbie Fowler and Dietmar Hamann are all for a move with the latter retired pro recently claiming he’s made for Liverpool.
Pedro
The spotlight has been cast upon Barcelona forward Pedro in recent days after it was announced on Tuesday evening that the Catalan giants have completed a deal to land Arda Turan despite their transfer ban.
With the Turkish international not able to play until January 2016, many are claiming that Pedro will be in a spot of bother by then with Luis Enrique’s side boasting an embarrassment of riches in the attacking department.
If the truth be told, Pedro is in a spot of bother right now with Enrique being able to call upon the famous MSN of Messi, Suarez and Neymar as hie favoured attacking trio while the Spanish international resides rather unhappily on the bench.
With Turan also playing in Pedro’s position, perhaps the Spaniard will want to get out of Camp Nou sooner than expected and Liverpool seem a good fit on the face of it.
That said, you’d imagine a player such as Pedro would be craving Champions League football so you’d imagine a rather hefty fee would need to be raised on Liverpool’s part.
Not an out and out forward of course, Liverpool did get some success in playing Raheem Sterling as a false number nine last term and this is a role in which Pedro can also fulfil.
Gonzalo Higuain
Another player seemingly on the move this summer is Napoli’s Gonzalo Higuain who hasn’t kept it a secret that he has designs on quitting the Naples club.
Having witnessed Rafael Benitez depart to take charge of Real Madrid, the expectation is that the Argentine will be following him out of Stadio San Paolo but Napoli are requesting quite ridiculous fees for Higuain as high as the £60 million mark.
With the player probably worth around the £35 million mark at most right now, Higuain is still considered a top quality forward despite enduring a tough 18 months in which the player flattered to deceive in not only the World Cup Final but also the Copa America Final where he blazed his penalty over the bar in an eventual loss for Argentine last Saturday evening.
Nevertheless, if Liverpool managed to get a deal done for the player who played in the Europa League last term, it would most definitely still make everybody sit up and take notice.
