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Over the last 48 hours, the footballing world seems to have agreed that we have missed out on the signing of Willian. It seems that our bid for Willian has been gazumped by the London side and we have decided not to match it. This suggests to me that we have other players still in mind. But who could our ‘Marquee’ signing be?
Leandro Damiao, Internacional, 24
Leandro Damiao is, like Coutinho, Willian and Diego Costa, a young Brazilian attacker. Unlike Willian and Coutinho though, Damiao is more of an out-and-out striker, rather than a playmaker. His better than 1 in 2 goal scoring record in Brazil mirrors this fact. From what I’ve heard, he has been looking for a move to Europe for a while, with Spurs being touted as the favourites to sign him for a long time.
However, after signing Soldado, Spurs’ interest around the player has cooled and over recent weeks, Southampton has been mentioned. Once again, I feel this deal is unlikely due to both the stature of the club and also the recent signing of Osvaldo from Roma.
He’s likely to be looking for a move to Europe to strengthen his chances of getting a starting place in the Brazil national side in the lead up to next summer’s World Cup. BBC sports journalist Ben Smith claimed that the club were not looking to bring in Damiao after missing out on Willian, so whilst he is a possibility, my guess would be that he is unlikely to move to Anfield this summer.
Christian Eriksen, Ajax, 21
Over the last 12 months, no player (apart from maybe Henrikh Mkhitaryan) has been linked with us more than Christian Eriksen. The press have regularly touted the technically gifted, Danish attacking-midfielder as an option for Liverpool at around the price of £15-£20 million mark. The player has reached the point in his career where he feels he is about to outgrow the club, and whilst he was hoping for a move it is yet to materialise.
Liverpool should be a perfect fit for Eriksen, even without European football, as he wants to play in a more competitive league. Also, the fact that Daniel Agger is his International captain could work in our favour. However, the fact that he is available and within our budget raises the question; why have we not bid yet? A move for the player is possible, but something tells me he isn’t one of Brendan Rodgers’ main targets. Another reason for us possibly moving for somebody else is that Rodgers recently spoke of bringing someone in who would allow Coutinho to play through the centre, however Eriksen usually plays there himself.
Erik Lamela, AS Roma, 21
Erik Lamela is a young Argentinian who has shown enough over the last few years to make many across the world take notice, and earn him a price tag of around £30m. Last season, at the tender age of 21, he scored 15 league goals in 33 games, which is even more impressive when you find out that he is a winger and not a striker.
However, despite all this he is still on the fringes of the Argentina squad, and will have to compete with Messi, Higuain, Aguero, Lavezzi, Tevez and Di Maria for a place in the starting lineup. Therefore, he may feel it is in his best interest to take on a new challenge and join many of his fellow compatriots in the Premier League. Whilst the player would be perfect for Liverpool, it is worth noting that Tottenham Hotspur have been heavily linked with this player in recent weeks and would make it a challenge for us to try and sign him.
Iker Muniain
Another product of the Spanish youth system that continues to churn out stars, Muniain was a part of the Spain u21 squad that won the u21European Championship this summer. With Rodgers recently talking about wanting to move Coutinho into a more central role, this right-footed left winger would be a perfect fit for our side tactically. Of the players mentioned in this article, Muniain is not the greatest goal threat, having only amassed 1 league goal in all of his 33 games last season.
However, he did score in his first appearance this season so far, suggesting that the next stage in his development could be the addition of goals to his game. At the age of 20, he may feel that this is his time to move on to a bigger club. Also, with him being so far from the national team (1 cap, none in 2013) he may feel that he has to move in order to push for a place on the plane to Brazil in 2014.
Arda Turan
The oldest player on the list is Arda Turan at 26, a player we were linked with a number of years ago when he was playing for Galatasaray. A player that can play on the wing or as a central attacking midfielder, he fits Brendan Rodgers’ style of attackers interchanging and moving during the game to create space. Liverpool may have been alerted to an interview given by Turan’s agent on Turkish television, in which he claimed Turan is likely to move to the Premier League.
In the interview, the agent also mentioned that Arda Turan has a £20m release clause. However, once bitten twice shy, Diego Costa used interest from the Premier League to get himself a new contract at Atletico Madrid earlier in the summer, and with Turan being seen as an important part of the squad, an improved deal may well be offered to him.
