Liverpool head into tonight’s Capital One Cup semi-final clash with Chelsea in better form than some might expect.
Brendan Rodgers’ side have now lost just one match in their last 14 in all competitions and have closed the gap on the top four to five points.
Saturday’s 2-0 win at Aston Villa even saw Fabio Borini and Rickie Lambert score in the same game – a statistic that shows things have certainly changed for the better.
The prospect of a two-legged semi-final against Chelsea is a mouthwatering one with the rivalry between the two clubs one of the biggest in English football after a series of massive clashes over the past 10 years.
A League Cup Final in 2005 began it all, which resulted in Jose Mourinho’s first trophy in English football.
Since then there have been three Champions League semi-finals, a Champions League quarter-final, an FA Cup semi-final and final as well as last season’s clash at Anfield in which Chelsea effectively ended Liverpool’s hopes of winning the Premier League title.
When the draw was made last month, perhaps a few of us expected the teams to be lining up against each other with some Janaury reinforcements but as of yet there has been nothing from either side, despite a host of rumours.
Here we have identified five of the most absurd transfer rumours regarding Liverpool this month.
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Click on Brendan Rodgers to reveal 5 ‘most absurd’ Liverpool rumours heard so far this January.
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Xherdan Shaqiri
The Express were amongst those that went as far to say Liverpool had agreed terms with Xherdan Shaqiri over an £11 million transfer from Bayern Munich.
Two days later, it was announced the Swiss international had completed a transfer to Inter Milan.
The news once again led to questions being asked of the way in which Liverpool conduct their transfer business with Shaqiri becoming the latest in a long line of big name players to reject a move to Anfield in the favour of somewhere else.
Iker Casillas
Brendan Rodgers has reportedly been on the lookout for a replacement for Simon Mignolet, having inexplicably allowed Pepe Reina to leave for Bayern Munich in the summer.
Real Madrid legend Iker Casillas has been one of the names mentioned but both the Spanish World Cup winner and Real Madrid as a club have since come out and said he will be going nowhere for the remainder of his career.
The Reds have been linked with a host of new goalkeepers but as of yet not one bid has been made. And Casillas certainly won’t be arriving at Anfield this month with Real Madrid fighting for the La Liga title as well as attempting to defend their Champions League trophy.
Marco Reus
Brendan Rodgers has recently talked up the importance of Liverpool securing their marquee signings and German international Marco Reus falls into that category.
The 25-year-old is not prepared to sign a new contract at Borussia Dortmund and reports suggest Liverpool will offer £30 million and a contract worth £200,000-a-week in a bid to make Reus their new star man this month. This is despite interest from Real Madrid, Chelsea, Arsenal, Manchester United and Bayern Munich.
In other news, hell has in fact frozen over!
Gonzalo Higuain
The Argentine striker is a proven goalscorer at all levels and would be a welcome addition to Brendan Rodgers’ squad.
Despite having only joined Napoli in the summer of 2013, Higuain is said to be keen to leave the Serie A side in search of a new challenge and reports continue to link him with a £30 million switch to the Premier League.
The Reds will be hoping their relationship with former boss Rafael Benitez will put them in the driving seat for his signature, however reports have since emerged Higuain won’t be allowed to leave at the midway point of the season.
Karim Benzema
Despite his success at Real Madrid last season and the goals he has scored this term, reports continue to suggest Karim Benzema’s future at the Bernabeu is far from assured.
The French international striker is said to be unhappy with the manner in which Real pursued Luis Suarez in the summer and is open to a move to the Premier League this winter with Carlo Ancelotti reportedly ready to listen to offers for the former Lyon striker.
Liverpool have been linked with a £50 million move but can anyone really seeing the Reds paying a world record fee for a proven world class striker with just 11 days of the transfer window remaining?
