A big summer awaits Liverpool Football Club and during all the recent talk of who is going to be the next manager, a lot of people seem to have forgotten there is a transfer window upon us. Although the window doesn’t officially open until July 1st it is an almost defunct rule as Premier League clubs persist with signing players well in advance of the opening day of the two month long transfer window.
It would be a hugely detrimental mistake for Liverpool not to make the most of players that are available now and, in the meantime, afford other, rival clubs the opportunity to step in and get themselves some of the best talent the world has to offer.
Here, we discuss who we think should be Liverpool’s top five targets of the summer. Unfortunately, as money is a big issue in football, here at Live4Liverpool we are going to be realistic and won’t be including the likes of Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo or even Emile Heskey in this group.
So, in no particular order of importance, our five players to make the difference:
The Fulham forward has been in blistering form this season for the Londoners and has managed 46 goals in his past two seasons in English football which, for a player who is not an out and out striker, is incredibly impressive. This form, coupled with the fact that he only has one year remaining on his Fulham contract and will therefore be able to be purchased for a cut price, means he should certainly be on Liverpool’s radar.
Proven Premier League class, a relatively cheap price and more than happy to make the move north to Anfield – surely a no brainer? Dempsey could well play in an attacking three, down the middle, just behind the big man Carroll – therefore allowing Steven Gerrard and the returning Lucas to pull the strings in the centre of midfield.
Estimated Value – £10-12 million
Uruguayan? Check. Skillful? Check. A handful for any defender? Check. We’ve already got him I hear you say? Isn’t that just Luis Suarez?
Not quite.
Gaston Ramirez is an attacking midfielder currently plying his trade at Bologna and looks a real talent. He’s made a huge impression on Serie A for the past few seasons and at the age of just 21, he could be a real astute piece of business for the Reds.
Valued at just under £20 million, despite recently signing a long-term contract at Bologna, Ramirez is a young man but has the ability to go straight in to the first team whilst having the luxury of being able to play right across the front line. The signing of Ramirez, who could potentially be purchased instead of Dempsey, alongside a world class winger could well be the final piece to a midfield jigsaw that has long to be completed.
Estimated Value – £16 million
Having just received young player of the year in France after an excellent season for newly-crowned French Champions Montpellier, Younès Belhanda is not short of a few admirers. The pacy, direct winger, who has an eye for an incisive pass, could be the sort of winger Liverpool fanshave been desperate to see for years at the club. With the big European teams’ attention on another of the French leagues exports, Eden Hazard, there is a definite chance available to Liverpool to make their move and try to bring in this exciting, explosive winger to provide the assists for the likes of Carroll and Suarez.
Estimated Value – £15 million
Every club needs a utility man. The sort of player that excels in his favourite position but, when needed, does a job in an unfamiliar one too.
Mauricio Isla is that guy and, although this may come as a surprise to some of you, he would be a fantastic signing for the Reds.
Primarily a full-back, Isla can play anywhere across the back line, in the centre of midfield and has even been known to play just behind the striker also.
With Fabio Aurelio released from his contract, there is room for a full-back in Liverpool’s squad and competition would spur the likes of Jose Enrique and Glen Johnson on to perform better as both, particularly Enrique, suffered somewhat of a slump in form towards the back end of last season. Rated at just over £12 million, Isla would be an ideal acquisition for whoever the new manager may be.
Estimated Value – £12 million
It was well documented that Liverpool tried to bring Defoe to Anfield in January but failed with a loan bid for the England striker. With his game time getting less and less frequent and with Spurs expected to sign Emmanuel Adebayor on a permanent transfer then now is the time for Liverpool to make their move. Defoe is a proven Premier League scorer, something which Liverpool sorely missed last season. The signing of Defoe would provide competition for Andy Carroll and Luis Suarez, forcing them into playing well, and would not break the bank either as Defoe is not valued too highly because of his age and lack of prominence in the Spurs side. A striker is a must this summer as we just did not score enough goals last season and with money not in huge abundance, the new manager has to be wise with his signings and Defoe, for Liverpool, would represent great value for money.
Estimated Value – £8 million
After adding all of those estimated values together, an amount of roughly £50 million would be spent on players this summer. If reports in the media are to be believed, the new manager will not get anywhere near that much from the owners to spend. However, the very minimum you would expect a Liverpool manager to get for a summer transfer budget is £30-35 million so that, coupled with a few Anfield exits, could potentially provide the funds needed to make these five signings however, as previously mentioned, it is a distinct possibility that not all these players will be signed or even targeted.
We understand that only one of these players are English and we realise that FSG’s policy in the past has been to look at the best of the English talent, we also realise that particular tactic did not work last season. As these five players are a mix of youth, experience, pace, goals and creativity these are simply the five players we at Liverpoolfccorner believe would make Liverpool a force in the Premier League for next season.
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