It seems like the general assumption that we need another centre back, a left back and a winger in this transfer window. And if we were able to land central defenders like Mamadou Sakho or Micah Richards, then that would of course be a major coup for LFC. And yes, we most definately need a back up for José Enrique at the left back position. And no matter how the Suarez saga ends, we don’t need to strengthen our attack with adding another striker. In my opinion we have a world class forward in Daniel Sturridge and Phillipe Coutinho has been an excellent playmaker, so yes, I agree, we could consider buying a world class winger (if we are able to get one while we’re not playing CL at the moment).
But the position, where the need of a back up is most urgently needed is: defensive midfielder!! Brendan Rodgers plays a formation with Lucas Leiva as a defensive midfielder, just in front of the defence and Captain Fantastic as a central midfielder, slightly in front of Lucas.
I’m a huge fan of Lucas. He’s world class and often not recognized enough for how vital he is for the team. And it was obvious how much we missed his abilities when he was out injured. If LFC wants to be a serious candidate for top 4, then playing the same defensive midfielder in all the games in a season is putting extreme pressure on one player. It’s simply gambling with his physical condition!
What are the alternatives? Jordan Henderson could perhaps play this position, but he probably preferes to play the slightly advanced central midfielder position, and this position belongs to Steven Gerrard. And I don’t want to see Captain Fantastic spending his last couple of years being the player who has the main responsibility to “clean up the midfield” as the defensive midfielder, with the physical tasks that entails. And Joe Allen doesn’t seem to have the physical strength to occupy this position.
We need a cover for Lucas Leiva and we need it in this transfer window. And let’s bring in a player of top quality who can rotate with Gerrard and Lucas on the midfield. THIS is a strategy to get us back in top 4! Let’s not obsess about Suarez or other attackers, let’s win the midfield battles in Premier League! This would make a substantial difference. And that would help us reach the top 4.
LASSANA DIARRA
I suggest we take a look at the club Anzhi Makhachkala. According to rumours the Brazilian winger Willian from the club is an interesting Liverpool target already. And the club has transfer listed all of it’s players, not only Willian, but also Lassana Diarra. He’s a world class defensive midfielder, versatile, 28 years old, and already a former regular for Real Madrid and Chelsea. He would be a great signing, who could also cover the CM position and even the right back.
THE DREAM OF XABI ALONSO
With Ancelotti bringing in Asier Illarramendi on this position for Real Madrid, some stars has to go the bench or to another club. We could always hope that doesn’t mean Sami Khedira moving to Chelsea, but that Xabi Alonso would end his career in his beloved Liverpool (signing on a fee of course, which Real Madrid wouldn’t get next year when his contract expires).
SEBASTIAN RODE
The new Dietmar Hamann? The 20 year old midfielder from Eintracht Frankfurt is a less obvious choice, and to be honest, he’ll probably prefere Dortmund or FC Bayern.
one of these guys would also be a major coup:
MAXIME GONALONS, Lyon
FERNANDO, Porto
and specially:
NEMANJA MATIC, Benfica
To sum it up:
If we land world class central defender, that’s great. But when we have Kolo Toure, Daniel Agger, Martin Skrtel, Andre Wisdom and Sebastian Coates in our team, we don’t need another back up on this position – we need a world class, long term replacement for Carra.
And let’s of course have a real back up for the left back position.
And even though Sterling is playing fantastic at the moment, it would be appropriate to buy another excellent winger. Perhaps one of the brilliant Brazilian wingers Willian or Bernard, or perhaps Adem Ljajic from Fiorentina or James Rodriguez from Porto, or of course Iker Muniain from Atletic Bilbao (even though the latter probably is a little bit unrealistic).
Suarez and Sturridge had some great games in the end of last season where they rotated with each other and swapped positions during the game. That is of course the dream scenario, a Liverpool team where the front four: Suarez, Sturridge, Coutinho and Sterling can rotate in some kind of a Barca inspired total football system. Sturridge has proven to be very effective starting as a winger with freedom to rotate with Suarez. And this is why, a winger isn’t as essential if we keep Suarez, but still a good idea if the target winger is a top player.
But….. Let’s not forget the importance of the midfield.
woldemort1 