Why Liverpool HAVE to battle to sign this major Chelsea target:

To say that things have gone pretty badly for Liverpool so far this season would be a major understatement. After a summer where Brendan Rodgers spent a lot of cash and brought in a lot of new players, I think it’s fair to say that expectations were high. But these expectations have all but disappeared and now Liverpool are at a cross-roads. Do they stick with what they’ve got or twist in the January transfer window?

Liverpool have issues throughout their squad (their defense is ineffective and their midfield is a little slow), but their main problem is their attack. Mario Balotelli was brought in to replace Luis Suarez (in a sense), but the Italian ace has struggled to fill the Uruguayan’s boots. For a player who scored 30 goals in 54 appearances for AC Milan he sure is jumpy in front of goal.

This, combined with Daniel Sturridge’s injury problems, means that Brendan Rodgers more or less has to act in the January transfer window. Unfortunately, given how much money was spent in the summer, it’s not clear how big a budget he’ll be given.

This brings me to The Metro‘s claim that The Reds have their sights set on Inter Milan’s 21-year-old striker, Mauro Icardi. The source also suggests that Tottenham are interested and that the player in question would like a move to Chelsea.

I have to say, I find that last part a little hard to believe. Would an up-and-coming talent really prefer to go up against Diego Costa for game-time, when his main competition could be Mario Balotelli? Ambition is one thing, but building a meaningful career is another. If Icardi’s smart, he’ll choose to move to Anfield.

Inter’s director of football has suggested that he would be prepared to sell Icardi for the right price: “I’ve learned that no player is off the market in football, it doesn’t work that way. It’s possible to keep Icardi and [Mateo] Kovacic although there are other clubs have more appeal than us.”

Liverpool will just have to work out how much it will take to convince Inter Milan to sell up. Let’s hope it’s within their current budget.

What’s your take? Should The Reds move in for this talented young striker?

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