Liverpool have really struggled to score goals this season and it is no secret that they are in the market for a new striker, but how much are they willing to spend? Who could they realistically get?
Well firstly, Liverpool do need a striker and they need one fast. Luis Saurez has been exceptional this season, scoring four out of Liverpool’s last five goals, including a sublime take and finish against Newcastle. But Saurez cannot be Liverpool’s only goal scorer, and that’s the case at the moment. That’s why Liverpool find themselves out of contention of Europe. Liverpool create a lot of goal scoring opportunities, but fail to convert regularly. This is proven by their stat of being the team to hit the woodwork the most, both this season and last. Managers Dalglish and now Rodgers have tried to rectify this by spending big money on Carroll and Borini, but neither player has lived up to expectations and regularly scored goals since their moves.
Without a prolific strike-force, Liverpool have really plummeted in the last few years; failing in both the Premier League and in Europe. Furthermore, Liverpool have not finished in the top six in the last three seasons, let alone the top four. Which begs the question, can they really attract the top players like they used to?
The best players in the world want to play in the Champions League and ultimately get an elusive winners medal, and Liverpool cannot offer that. In addition to this, Liverpool seem to be falling behind of other teams in the Premier League with Chelsea, City and United challenging for the title and then Arsenal, Spurs, Everton and Newcastle after fourth spot and a chance in Europe’s most iconic competition. Liverpool are arguably behind all of these teams and won’t be competition in the Champions League for some time.
So we come back to the original question, who can they get?
We know that Liverpool have the funds, even though they seemingly wasted millions of pounds on Downing, Carroll and Borini, who have all underperformed since their big money moves. Many names have been linked to Liverpool to fill that void left by Fernando Torres when he moved to Chelsea two seasons ago.
Some players linked with a move to Liverpool:
Anzhi striker Lacina Traore (Source: The Mirror)
Porto striker Jackson Martinez (Source: talkSPORT)
Schalke striker Klaas-Jan Huntelaar (Source: The Mirror)
This is just a selection of many players linked with a January move to Liverpool. The obvious choice would be to sign proven striker Klass Jan Huntelaar from Schalke. The Dutch forward has a proven track record and would be relatively cheap (comparing him with the £35m paid for Andy Carroll), but would he move to sunny Liverpool?
One player that has not been mentioned but I think would make a fantastic acquisition for Liverpool would be to sign Didier Drogba. After alleged disagreements with new side Shanghai Shenhua Drogba may be available on a free transfer. But again, would he come? I think that Drogba would relish a new chance and opportunity to thrive in the Premier League and would be attracted with the chance to play regular football at Liverpool. He wold be able to link up with Suarez perfectly and would benefit through Gerrard’s dead ball ability.
There are questions about who to buy and whether they would move to Liverpool given their current position. But one thing that is evident, is that Liverpool are crying out for a striker. They have failed to convert too many chances this season and they may be in a much better position if they had another prolific striker to go alongside Suarez. I really do feel for Liverpool, if Suarez does unfortunately get injured at any point this season, they would really struggle to score goals without him.
What do you think? Do Liverpool need a striker? Who would you buy? Would Drogba go/be a good signing?
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For me its Huntelaar or Soldado!