Calm down, calm down; we know what you’re thinking claims our Football Transfer Tavern landlord in response to the fact that many Liverpool fans are claiming Roberto Firmino is the man who’ll ultimately prove Raheem Sterling’s replacement at Anfield.
With the Reds contract rebel completing his high profile summer switch to Manchester City, it mustn’t be ignored that Brendan Rodgers and co will be receiving a mighty £49 million for his services and with funds these large, perhaps they’ll be immediately reinvested into Liverpool’s playing squad.
Liverpool have been the busiest Premier League side in the transfer window so far this summer bringing in James Milner, Danny Ings, Adam Bogdan, Joe Gomez, Roberto Firmino and Nathaniel Clyne but the consensus amongst Reds supporters is that they could do with another forward and perhaps another creative midfielder.
Of course, there are a whole host of players who could kill two birds with one stone and those are the guys we’re concentrating on today and those that could effectively fill the shoes belonging to Sterling.
After speaking about the topic at length, our landlord and a few Liverpool supporters have come up with a list of five potential Sterling replacements that Rodgers should be considering as we embark on the crux of the transfer window.
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Click on the image below to reveal the 5 Raheem Sterling replacements Liverpool should consider this summer.
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Pedro
Surely transfer banned Barcelona owe Liverpool one after the Reds’ sale of Luis Suarez to the Camp Nou last summer?
Add to the fact that Barca also sanctioned a move for Alexis Sanchez to Arsenal over Liverpool last time around and there are many Reds fanatics here in the tavern that feel the Spanish giants should be scratching their back this transfer window.
That said, any transfer will come down to the player himself and in Liverpool target Pedro, perhaps the Barca attacker will only be considering clubs who are playing in the Champions League right now.
What we know already is that Pedro has already received offers to leave the Catalan giants so far this summer.
With the Reds only securing a qualification place for Europa League football this coming season, you feel any deal will need to be closer to the £30 million mark in an attempt to prise Pedro away from the club he’s spent his whole career at to date.
Xherdan Shaqiri
Having previously rejected a transfer to Liverpool in favour of moving to Inter Milan in the January transfer window, our Liverpool fans in the tavern are split on whether the club should go back in for the Swiss star.
That said, reports from the Daily Star back in January actually carried quotes from the player himself that mentioned the player was in fact keen on joining the Reds in last summer’s transfer window.
“I felt that Inter did most to get me. My gut feeling was with Inter. I had wanted to join Liverpool over the summer, but Bayern would not agree to it,” claimed Shaqiri.
With his Inter switch having gone anything but to plan, Shaqiri’s future is once again up in the air and despite Stoke City agreeing a fee with the Nerazzurri a few weeks back, a deal wasn’t reached meaning that Liverpool still have a chance of landing him but they’ll face competition from German giants Schalke.
Theo Walcott
Arsenal fans will be disgusted that one of their longest serving pros in Theo Walcott is being included in this gallery but the Liverpool fan is still being considered an outside bet for a Liverpool switch this summer.
The player has of course already mentioned at the end of last season on Arsenal’s FA Cup victory parade that he is excited to be working with the Gunners team going forward but football moves fast and that was well, then.
Still yet to pen his much publicised new contract with the Gunners, perhaps the self confessed Liverpool fan will be subject of a tempting large bid by Liverpool?
As mentioned at the outset, Liverpool will have an extra £49 million in their funds following Sterling’s sale and with this amount in the coffers, perhaps Arsenal will be receiving a call in the next month or so.
Marco Reus
Liverpool supporters are often ridiculed by fans of rival elite clubs for their interest in Borussia Dortmund’s Marco Reus with the Reds often considered no longer big enough to land a player of the German international’s calibre.
However, it is in fact the Reds and not so often their rivals who are linked with Reus’ signature and the rumours continue to swirl around cyberspace with The Express claiming that all of the Sterling sale cash could be immediately thrust in the face of Dortmund to tempt them into a Reus sale.
While Reus could’ve joined the likes of Barcelona in recent transfer windows, he’s remained loyal to Dortmund but lets face it, money talks and perhaps Sterling’s sale does give Liverpool a slightly better chance of landing the German this summer, albeit a slim advantage.
One of the most insufferable rumours in football, perhaps Reus’ future will be put to bed in the next month or so.
Jordon Ibe
And what if Raheem Sterling’s true replacement is already at the club?
Yes, Jordon Ibe enjoyed a breakthrough campaign at Anfield last term after being recalled from a prosperous loan spell at Derby County around the mid-point of last season.
Deployed in a wing back role and further forward in Brendan Rodgers’ team, Ibe is a versatile customer and somebody who boasts similar attributes to Sterling in respect of their pace, position and early education spent in the Football League with Queens Park Rangers and Wycombe Wanderers respectively.
While Liverpool fans would of course love the Sterling cash to be immediately reinvested into the likes of signing Pedro or Marco Reus, they all know Jordon Ibe is a promising talent who will only get better this season.
