Our resident Liverpool fans in the Football Transfer Tavern haven’t been looking too impressed for weeks now with just the utterances of ‘Gerrard’ or ‘Sterling’ being enough to make their hearts drop in disappointment.
What they are sulking about today is the fact that the Reds are likely to be wrapping up the signing of Danny Ings from Burnley whereas their old foes Manchester United have wrapped up a deal for one of the most exciting young players in Europe in Memphis Depay.
The fact of the matter is that it will now prove that much harder for the Reds to sign the top talents of European football and beyond given their lack of Champions League football for next season but nevertheless, Brendan Rodgers knows he needs to strengthen with his transfer policy under much scrutiny following last summer’s acquisitions.
For the likes of Adam Lallana, Mario Balotelli, Rickie Lambert and Lazar Markovic, they have all flattered to deceive for varying reasons this term and the consensus from Reds fans by the bar is that Liverpool need to sign ready-made and reliable pros who have a better chance of hitting the ground running in an attempt to get back into the top four.
To be honest, the expected signature of Ings should be looked upon with some excitement despite the Reds’ recent disappointments. At 22 he has the best years of his career ahead of him and is surely a better third choice attacking option than the likes of Lambert.
With his potential move in mind, we’ve shortlisted five other Reds targets who could end up joining Ings at Anfield next season.
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Click on your legendary number 8 below to reveal the 5 players who could follow Danny Ings to Liverpool next season.
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Geoffrey Kondogbia
Replacing Steven Gerrard is going to be no mean feat and in all honesty is likely to prove an impossible task.
Nevertheless, one man who could bring power, energy and commitment to the Reds’ midfield is Monaco’s Geoffrey Kondogbia who is interesting Liverpool at the minute according to Metro.
The publication claim that Rodgers is interested in a double deal for the Ligue 1 side’s standout pair of the midfielder himself as well as Tunisian international defender Aymen Abdennour who was outstanding against Arsenal in the Champions League knockout phase this year.
The interesting sub plot here is that Monaco need to sell some of their prized assets in order to comply with UEFA’s fair play ruling and it is believed that an offer of £25 million would be enough to land Kondogbia.
Although many of Rodgers’ signings have flopped so far, Kondogbia is more likely to succeed in the English game given his physical attributes and our resident Reds fans agree that the ‘Europa League Pogba’ would be a fantastic addition.
Eduardo Salvio
A transfer that is only days away, that is if you believe reports such as those as published by the Daily Star recently.
Eduardo Salvio is on the brink of a switch to Anfield apparently and although he has proved to be an eye-catching, technical player with Benfica in the Primeira Liga, whose to say he isn’t the next Milan Jovanovic, Mark Gonzalez or Stewart Downing?
The problem for the Reds is that in recent seasons, they’ve endured a history of splashing out on flop signings, especially wingers and these failures have heaped more pressure onto the likes of Adam Lallana to deliver from the off in demanding surroundings.
Liverpool really need to sign another three or four success stories in the Philippe Coutinho mould to break back into the top four and whether Salvio could indeed be one of those players is at this stage, anyone’s guess.
Christian Benteke
You sense that whoever ends up capturing Christian Benteke this summer is going to a be a very lucky club indeed.
Often compared with Belgian compatriot Romelu Lukaku given their age and physical style of play, it is the Everton man’s star that has fallen somewhat with Benteke’s rising again following a purple patch under new Aston Villa boss Tim Sherwood.
With Benteke having proved loyal to Villa so far, you sense that if Arsenal beat them in the FA Cup Final this forthcoming weekend, he will have his eyes set on a new challenge. If Villa do beat the Gunners, he may yet be swayed into staying.
Nevertheless, Liverpool fans will be hoping that they can splash out to sign a tried and tested Premier League forward such as Benteke while disposing of the ‘foursome of failure’ in Mario Balotelli, Rickie Lambert, Fabio Borini and Iago Aspas.
To call upon a fit foursome of Christian Benteke, Daniel Sturridge, Danny Ings and the returning Divock Origi would immediate improve the Reds’ attacking options but Chelsea are likely to fight Liverpool hard for the Belgian’s signature, according to Metro.
Yohan Cabaye
A transfer no-brainer for Liverpool and Brendan Rodgers to pursue this summer?
We’re not saying for one second that Yohan Cabaye is the new Steven Gerrard but what he would bring to Liverpool is an incredible range of passing, box-to-box ability and set-piece specialisms – traits in the Gerrard mould, no?
Cabaye’s big transfer to Paris Saint-Germain just hasn’t gone to plan and this summer he’ll have a big decision to make in regards to continuing to pick up a large wage as an expensive benchwarmer or returning to English shores where he made far more of an impact in his time with Newcastle United.
The thing with Cabaye is that he is tried and tested in the Premier League so Reds fans would know what to expect and what’s more, his signature would only cost £10 million according to The Mirror – small fry by Liverpool’s spending standards.
Andre Ayew
If Raheem Sterling isn’t coerced into staying at Anfield for one more season like Luis Suarez was then the onus will be on Brendan Rodgers to sign a speedy wing man as a like-for-like replacement.
The Reds could do a lot worse than signing Marseille’s Andre Ayew, a veteran not by age but by total appearances in Ligue 1 which currently stand at 159.
In recent reports by Metro, the Ghanaian international’s brother has claimed that Ayew wants a Premier League move this summer and you feel that a club like Liverpool could easily fight off competition from the likes of Newcastle United and Tottenham for his signature, given their prestige and history within the English game.
One to watch this summer.
