The sheer matter of fact that Liverpool appointed Jurgen Klopp right at the start of an international break, there has been an incredible number of days for Reds supporters to get overly excited about his appointment since that a defeat at Tottenham tomorrow would be like sucking the air out of a balloon.
Seemingly only having eyes for the three points tomorrow against an opponent they have won their last five encounters against, it’s safe to say our Reds supporters are on cloud nine right now.
Unsurprisingly, following Klopp’s appointment at Anfield last week, much of the talk surrounding him has been centred upon just who he will look to be acquiring in the January transfer window which will of course roll around in just three months’ time.
Naturally, links to the likes of Borussia Dortmund trio Marco Reus, Ilkay Gundogan and Neven Subotic have been widespread but a couple of days ago, Klopp himself distanced himself from reports that he was planning a huge raid on his former club.
Having won back-to-back titles with Dortmund to break the title domination of Bayern Munich a few seasons’ baclk, you would imagine that Klopp will demonstrate a level of respect to his former employers and if this is to prove the case, he may need to be looking elsewhere for new Reds reinforcements.
That’s why this evening, we’ve devised a list of five potential Reds transfer targets residing a lot closer to home in our very own Premier League. Take a look!
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Click on the image below to reveal the five Premier League stars Klopp should sign for Liverpool in January.
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Riyad Mahrez
Undoubtedly one of the stars of the Premier League in the opening weeks of the season, Leicester City’s Riyad Mahrez has taken his performances to new heights, bagging five goals in the opening eight games to haul Claudio Ranieri’s Foxes up to a Europa League qualifying position at present.
The Algerian international was always considered a flair player from afar but a lot more attention has been placed upon him this term with the wide man growing his all-round game.
Liverpool have got it wrong with so many wingers down the years and you only need to mention the likes of Milan Kovanovic, Sebastian Leto, Stewart Downing and Lazar Markovic to give Reds supporters nightmares so why not swoop for the flavour of the month in Mahrez?
While some Reds supporters believe his current form may be a flash in the pan, others see him as a player on the march and although his agent has stated he’s happy at the King Power Stadium at present, surely the player has designs on using Leicester as a stepping stone in his career?
Ashley Williams
Only today, the South Wales Evening Post proceeded with a story concerning Swansea City boss Garry Monk who claimed Brendan Rodgers’ reported previous interest in Swans club captain Ashley Williams was overstated and exacerbated.
Having signed a new deal at the Liberty Stadium last year, the Wales international’s performances have continued to go from strength to strength with Williams truly being one of the most complete defenders in the Premier League outside the top four clubs.
An incredibly ambitious target for Liverpool to consider in January given he’s already been loyal, not to mention the fact his new deal will push his price tag up, when you look around the Premier League for top quality ready-made centre backs right now, few are better than Williams.
Now 31-years-old, Williams is incredibly experienced, both in the Premier League and at international level and lets face it, he’s better than Dejan Lovren, Kolo Toure and Mamadou Sakho so why not sanction a cheeky bid?
Jack Butland
Like Ashley Williams, it would be incredibly difficult to prise England number two Jack Butland away from Stoke City right now with the former Birmingham City man having bided his time to succeed Asmir Begovic at the Britannia Stadium but at the same time, many Liverpool fans believe they can upgrade upon Simon Mignolet.
When Reds supporters look around the Premier League’s top clubs right now, Petr Cech, Thibaut Courtois, David De Gea and Joe Hart are all world class options compared to Mignolet so why not chase after a young goalkeeper in Butland who looks like he can reach those levels?
Butland has been absolutely outstanding for Stoke in a largely forgettable campaign for the Potters so far, fulfilling the potential many saw in him as an even younger player and surely it’s only a matter of time before Mark Hughes’ phone starts ringing off the hook.
With Klopp coming in, he’ll be running the rule over just who merits their place in this Liverpool team over the next few months and with Mignolet having been prone to errors last season, perhaps this is an area the German will look to strengthen.
Nathan Redmond
One thing is for sure; under the Brendan Rodgers regime, the now former Liverpool boss was instructed to buy young and British by Fenway Sports Group and we saw evidence of that with the signings of Nathaniel Clyne, Danny Ings, Joe Gomez, Jordon Ibe and others.
So it was no surprise at the latter end of the summer that Liverpool were linked with another exciting up-and-coming young talent in the form of Norwich City’s Nathan Redmond who still remains at Carrow Road following summer reports that he was a £10 million target of the Reds.
Having been a highly-rated player ever since his days breaking through at Birmingham City, we have seen flashes of the great potential Redmond possesses and looking great this season too, we think that if the England Under-21 international keeps on producing the goods for Alex Neil’s side up until the New Year, Liverpool could become very interested by then.
That is unless big money signing Roberto Firmino pulls his finger out in the next couple of months!
Cheikhou Kouyate
Having witnessed Liverpool be so intensely linked with Borussia Dortmund’s Ilkay Gundogan of late, a lot of Reds supporters have agreed that the club are in need of an additional midfield destroyer.
While Lucas Leiva can do a decent job on his day, the long-serving Brazilian isn’t getting any younger and Liverpool supporters would like to see a top quality addition like Gundogan installed in the team.
Wanting something to happen and seeing something happen are two totally different things however and with Dortmund having their own designs on keeping their better players, perhaps Klopp will have to look elsewhere for midfield reinforcements.
One man who is quietly forging a decent reputation for himself in the Premier League is West Ham United’s Cheikhou Kouyate who is one of those players who doesn’t strike you immediately as a great player but is one of those unsung pros who could definitely do a job for the Reds.
Capable of doing a little bit of everything in midfield, the Senegalese is a physical presence who doesn’t only put his boot in, yet is capable of driving forward to supplement attacks to boot.
West Ham will want to keep him but with every player having their price, perhaps this is an option Klopp might explore if he continues to impress.
