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Five players heading for a January Anfield exit?

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Aspas LiverpoolAspas Liverpool2014 got off to a perfect start for Liverpool Football Club with victory and a clean sheet against Hull City.

However, entering 2014 means that the January transfer window is open and not only will there be various names linked with a move to Anfield, but also those rumoured to be leaving.

Liverpool’s squad is decent, with a strong starting XI, however Brendan Rodgers does have a few injuries to contend with at the moment so it is more likely that by the time we move into February the Reds will have more numbers in their squad than less.

On the other hand, there is a strong chance that one or two could exit the door and here are five players that realistically could be sold or loaned out by Liverpool this January.

1. Iago Aspas
Due to the incredible striking prowess of Daniel Sturridge and Luis Suarez, Iago Aspas has been unable to cement a regular starting spot and showcase the talent that persuaded Brendan Rodgers to buy the Spaniard from Celta Vigo.

At 26 he should be in the prime of his career, but when he has played for the Reds he has struggled to adapt to the pace of the Premier League, whilst his small stature and lack of strength on the ball has been the main problem, as well as obviously not scoring goals. He impressed in pre-season but now arguably it’s time for Liverpool to cut their losses.

Some clubs have been linked with a loan move, such as Swansea, however it doesn’t seem that beneficial as he just doesn’t look the part for Liverpool in the Premier League and is not a young player with plenty of future potential. A permanent return to Spain looks the best bet.

Likelihood of leaving – 8/10

2. Joe Allen
The Welshman was one of the early signings of Brendan Rodgers, but he has been weighed down so far in his Liverpool career by injury and by having to justify an extremely pricey £15m tag.

He showed flashes of his quality last season, especially at the beginning, winning the Liverpool Player of the Month award for August 2012. However, he made more mistakes as the season went on and look nervous whenever he was on the ball before a shoulder injury ended his season. He has struggled to get back into the side until just recently, where he has shown great character with improved performances since his shocking miss at Goodison.

Nevertheless, Allen could be at risk, especially if Rodgers decided to bring in another midfielder, much like with Coutinho this time last year. A permanent deal would be far more preferable if Allen was to leave, as he could still fetch a fee of around £7-8m, especially if his performances continue to improve.

Likelihood of leaving – 5/10

3. Tiago Ilori
The man from Portugal who could represent England in the future hasn’t had a look in since arriving on August deadline day from Sporting Lisbon.

At just 20, Ilori has a promising future ahead of him but this season he is the 5th choice centre-back, behind Martin Skrtel, Mamadou Sakho, Daniel Agger and Kolo Toure in the pecking order. A loan out would do him the world of good and then he can demonstrate why Liverpool paid approx £7m for him in the summer.

He has been linked abroad, with clubs like Valencia interested. However, it makes sense for him to go on loan to a Premier League club where he can become accustomed to the league where he will play for his parent club. Somewhere like Southampton would be beneficial, fighting their other centre-backs to partner Dejan Lovren which he should be able to do if he is the player for Liverpool in the future.

Likelihood of leaving – 9/10

4. Luis Alberto
Like Iago Aspas, Luis Alberto came over from Spain in the summer and like Aspas has struggled to maintain a place in the starting XI. However, he has impressed more than his fellow Spaniard when he has been given the chance, such as his assist for Luis Suarez when he came on against Tottenham at White Hart Lane.

Alberto is definitely a talented individual, but like Ilori is down in the pecking order and so needs more playing time and experience before being able to play regularly for Liverpool. His situation is similar to what Suso is undertaking now at Almeria, impressing on loan to make a statement to his parent club for next season. But with Suso and Alberto competing with the likes of Coutinho for those attacking midfield spots and with Rodgers possibly bringing in another player in that area, Alberto needs to play to show that he has a future at Liverpool.

A loan abroad would not be as bad for Alberto compared to Ilori, shown with the example of Suso, but again it would be better if he stayed in the Premier League. Teams such as Fulham, Norwich or Hull could do with a player who can unlock defences, and Alberto has proven that already in his short time settling in at Liverpool. If he can do it on a regular basis, there’s no reason why he doesn’t have a chance of becoming a top player for Liverpool.

Likelihood of leaving – 6/10

5. Daniel Agger
Daniel Agger is one of the long standing servants left at the club, someone who can actually remember the 2006 FA Cup triumph and when Liverpool were one of the ‘Big Four’. Now 29, he is the vice-captain, but is arguably now the 3rd choice centre-back behind Sakho and Skrtel.

He reads the game well and is good on the ball, illustrating his compatibility to the Brendan Rodgers system. However, he remains injury prone and fragile at set pieces, which has seen him go in and out of the team and become linked with moves away to Napoli. Liverpool rejected the advances of Barcelona and made Agger vice-captain to keep him at the club. But he is no longer indispensable and if a rumoured £15m fee came in from the Catalan club, or if Rafael Benitez ups his bid to persuade his former defender to move to Southern Italy (rather than £8m or a loan deal), then it should be accepted.

He will be 30 next season and it would provide the funds for Liverpool to go after a world-class centre-back to replace him and to have the effect on Skrtel and Sakho of improving their consistency to play alongside the new signing. That person wouldn’t have to be rushed in as Kolo Toure and Martin Kelly can provide cover for Skrtel and Sakho until the summer, but it should be the long term plan.

Regardless, even if Agger doesn’t move in the summer, either him or Skrtel will leave in the not too distant future depending on form as both are the same age.

Likelihood of leaving – 3/10

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18 comments

  • callum says:

    Please please please get rid of Allen , one of the most useless players to ever wear a Liverpool shirt

    Alberto and Aspas are never Liverpool standard either.

  • yemi says:

    The signing of Allen and Borini was a mistake and a complete waste of fund,BR also made same mistake with aspas and alberto.If LFC wants champions league spot they need to buy proven players of top quality.

  • synthia emily says:

    Guys you must b jokin, given the thin squad Lfc has, non of the above mentioned players is leavin

    • TaintlessRed says:

      I agree. They may not be 1st team material yet (or never) but we had a 16 year old on the bench in our last game. There’s a 0% chance any will leave. Aspas is the one struggling most (although I’m no fan of Allen) but with Sturridge still injured we have only Luis. Iago may leave in Summer though, but no one during January.

  • Liam says:

    Aspas Alberto Allen Borini Jones llori Moses and cissokho . The deadwood list is bigger than ever !!!

    • Ozred says:

      Moses and cissoko on loan so will be gone soon. Hard to understand how lorri and Alberto could be classified as dead wood given their age.

  • patrick says:

    Neh..I think alberto should b given game time the man’s got sum gud tallent..as 4allen; aspas and moses they should definitly GO!!!!

  • Napalm Viper says:

    Not realy fair to put llori and Alberto in the deadwood bracket.. There both young talented players.. Both need to maybe go on loan in the prem to gain experience.. Why would BR take the risk in playing llori when we have 4 experienced centerbacks in front of him. He’s there to replace kolo when he’s done.. And Alberto has done little wrong in the little time he’s had on the pitch.. Got an assist against spurs so he has an eye for a through ball.. Just what’s needs for a player in his position. I understand the need for first team players now but these two have done no wrong

  • Napalm Viper says:

    But aspas borini and jones are deffo deadwood.. Moses and cissokho are on loan and will go back to there parent clubs thank god.. Allen is improving at the moment and i think we should wait till the end of the season, to see if the improvement continues.. Bertrand or montoya fullbacks to consider and salah and tello are wingers to consider but id guess that’s all just paper crap talk.. 4 good players from what I’ve seen thoe and we seem to make Chelsea’s wasted player what they should be, so Bertrand would be top of my list, English 24 so plenty of years in him and no real transition apart from moving..

  • Daniel says:

    Allen is not even a premier league player – shocking purchase. Alberto and llori while young will never make it in England

    Aspas , Borini , Assaidi , and sissoko should be dumped. Moses should go . And Toure too , he is not needed.

    Bloody hell , BR has signed some duffers.

  • Wes says:

    The 5 I would like to see go are

    1, Allen
    2, Aspas
    3, Borini
    4, Cissokho
    5, Sakho

    • TaintlessRed says:

      Sakho? Are u serious? He’s made the occasional mistake but has been great in other games. He’s better than Skrtel was at that age and Agger is injury prone.

  • clever says:

    Aspas can go. Would give a chance to Alberto, he looks promising. I hope he gets a chance in tomorrow’s FA cup. Send Moses back to Chelsea.

  • shittle says:

    If u put sakho on dis list u must be very stupid,,,,for me he has been our best defender so far,,,compared to sluggish agger,and OWN GOALs scorer(skytrl),,,,,,,,,assaidi should come back,,,and aspas should go back to spain,,,,,ilori should play 2day,,,,

  • StevieG says:

    Allen MUST GO ….but brendan wouldn’t sell his little pet , would he ?

    All of Rodgers buys apart from coutinho and sturridge are dispensable .

  • faith says:

    Keep –
    Reina next year
    Johnson agger skrtel flanagan enrique Kelly
    Lucas gerrard henderson coutinho suso
    Sturridge sterling suarez

    These are the only quality payers we have . All the rest should e sold in summer

  • kav says:

    Aspas and Alberto both showed how rubbish they both are today .

  • Denis D says:

    The players who should be shown the door in January are as follows:

    GK B Jones RB M Kelly( Too Injury Prone) CB S Coates ( Dead wood average)

    AM L Alberto ( Pointless buy, not good enough, way out of his depth)
    FD I Aspas( Gamble that has not paid off. A technically better Borini but both are dead wood average and top 12-18 team players not of Liverpool class or quality)

    And then in the summer these players should be shipped out:

    GK P Reina RW / RWF Assaidi FD Borini

    Those are the 7 dead wood average players at club, Reina is world class player but his wages and attitude cost him move. And he should be sold in Summer.

    And A Mccarthy(24) Of Reading should be brought to club for 4-7M to compete with Mignolet week in week out as Complacency has already krept in with Mignolet(25) as we found out against Chelsea and Man City. Mignolet(25) Cost the club 4 points with those two mistakes

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