Sunday, April 26, 2015

Will will be Liverpool's attacking reinforcements?

In a recent press conference Brendan Rodgers admitted that the difference from last season to the current season has been the number of goals. Suarez left and Sturridge was nursing his injuries 90% of the season. Liverpool took a chance with the signing of Balotelli but it just didn't work out. Lambert has done okay when called upon but he is not quick enough to suit Liverpool's high pressing game. Don't get me started on Borini. Rodgers even called on contract rebel Raheem Sterling at times to play as center forward, a role which he performed admirably, yet it is clear that he is not the long term solution for that position.

In the conference Rodgers admitted that they will look at a large number of players during the summer to help them in attack. There have already been countless strikers linked recently with a move to Liverpool, so let us take a look to see if they would be a good fit.

Memphis Depay
Obviously the young Dutchman is not a striker, but he is an attacking player for sure. I previously wrote about how Depay would fit in at Liverpool as we already have so many young wingers/attacking midfielders. While he would be coming in to stiff competition for a place in the starting lineup I now believe that he would be an upgrade to the current squad. He is an extremely creative and exciting player, I would describe him as a mix between Hazard and Coutinho, though he still has work to do of course. He has scored over 20 goals for PSV this year, helping them win the Eredivise. He can score goals and he knows how to win at only 21 years old. Sign him up.
Possibility: 6/10

Stevan Jovetic
Recent reports are linking Liverpool with moves for two of Manchester City's players. We have already known of Liverpool's interest in bringing in James Milner when his contract expires this summer, but now Jovetic is supposedly interesting Liverpool too. The 25 year old Monteneran has endured an injury ridden 2 years at City yet has shown glimpses of his talent during this time. City will undoubtedly look to offload at least one striker this summer as they currently have Aguero, Bony, Dzeko, Jovetic, and Negredo (currently on loan at Valencia), and it might be Jovetic if they receive a good offer. Jovetic hasn't scored hundreds of goals but he is still young and all he needs is an injury free season to get his career back on track. I find his style of play to be similar to Suarez's with much improvisation and invention. It is a bit unlikely but I would welcome Jovetic to Anfield.
Possibility: 4/10

Christian Benteke
The 24 year old Belgian was an instant hit in the Premier League with Aston Villa but suffered a second season slump which continued into this season. Injuries have kept his goal numbers down but in recent months Benteke has again shown his class as he is almost single handedly dragging Villa out of the relegation zone. He has scored against Liverpool for fun as our defenders just can't seem to deal with his physical presence. At 24 he still have many years of playing and improving left, but the question is, does he fit Liverpool's style? He is big and physical and a great striker of the ball but he is not quick and a fantastic passer of the ball. I fear that he would play similar to how Lambert has for us this season, which just doesn't seem to be a great fit. He is a great player but I don't see him succeeding for Liverpool. Plus he's an Arsenal fan, so there's that.
Possibility: 2/10

Radamel Falcao
There are so many questions surrounding the Colombian right now and none will really be answered until the summer. Reports say that talks have already begun between Falcao and Liverpool, but I don't trust them. It appears that Man U are still deciding if they should keep him or not, but my gut tells me that he won't stay. There are few clubs that can pay his enormous wages and Liverpool have become weary of paying huge wages to players in recent years. I believe Falcao would do better at Liverpool than he did at Man U, but I don't seem him being our savior either. He would cost a fortune to buy and it is just too much of a risk.
Possibility: 2/10

Danny Ings
Signing the Burnley striker certainly wouldn't solve all of Liverpool's troubles up top, but it certainly would help. He is only 22 years old and has been Burnley's top scorer, impressing in his first season in the Premier League. Ing's current contract expires in the summer and it now appears that his team will be relegated, which means Premier League teams will be eyeing his situation closely like vultures. He is quick and hard working, creative and can score goals even when his team is struggling. I believe he would be a great acquisition with minimal risk as he would be a free transfer. I can see him playing deputy to the often injured Sturridge next season and doing a bang up job of it. Liverpool will have much competition for his signature but they should make Ings a priority.
Possibility: 5/10

From looking at the possibilities that I assigned each striker it is clear that it is unclear as to what Liverpool are thinking for the summer transfer window. There are many others that I haven't mentioned such as Lacazette or Immobile, but these deals seem very unlikely. We still have more than a month before the window officially opens so there is plenty of time, though hopefully Liverpool have learned their lessons about the consequences of leaving things late. If it was me in charge of transfers then I would sign Depay, Ings and Jovetic (or another striker of his caliber like Lacazette). After a season of more failure than success from the players signed last summer I hope that the Liverpool hierarchy begin to get their acts together and spend serious cash on seriously good, established players. We have the basis of promising youth players, now let's get a world beater!

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