Only One More Striker Needed, Not Two

In the last few days, speculation surrounding Pedro’s future at Barcelona has intensified as the Spanish giants secured the signing of Atletico Madrid’s Arda Turan.

Liverpool have been frequently linked with the Spanish international, who is without doubt a fantastic player. Full of experience, yet still in his prime at 27, Pedro has won trophy after trophy at the Catalan club, and has delivered a substantial amount of goals and assists despite being in and out of the team in the last five years.

He has always been third or fourth choice, rarely an automatic starter and more of a super-sub, yet has 141 goals and assists in his last 300 appearances.

Whether he would successfully adapt to the demands of the Premier League, having spent his entire career immersed in the Barcelona philosophy, would be the only major worry, but at roughly £20m Pedro would be a fantastic signing for Liverpool.

Except that he is not needed anymore.

Liverpool have made six signings this summer already in what is shaping up to be a very satisfactory transfer window, and the squad is looking improved ahead of next season.

Plus, most of the signings will have plenty of time to become accustomed to life at Anfield, and have a full pre-season with their new club.

This is hugely important for new signings if they are to hit the ground running in their debut season, and therefore Liverpool should look to finish all of their incomings before the start of August.

Even if a few more players need to be jettisoned beyond that point, having everyone that is wanted available and ready going into the opening month of the Premier League campaign would be enormously beneficial.

At least two more signings are needed, with an out-and-out striker required and a left-back to challenge Alberto Moreno. Furthermore, a defensive midfielder should also be targeted if Lucas Leiva leaves the club.

Coming back to why Pedro is no longer needed at Anfield, the signing of Roberto Firmino has filled that attacking midfield gap that was needed in Brendan Rodgers’ team.

Meanwhile Raheem Sterling is likely to depart and hopefully Manchester City will offer an acceptable fee to Liverpool sooner rather than later so that all parties can move on from this acrimonious saga. Some Liverpool fans are now suggesting that we need to seek a replacement for Sterling, yet even though perhaps Firmino was not brought in for that purpose, he should be taking Sterling’s position in the team.

It is hard to imagine a starting line-up with Philippe Coutinho, Sterling and Firmino together; therefore it is equally difficult to see how Pedro, Coutinho, Firmino and another striker could all play together. The team would be unbalanced, unless Coutinho would be willing to play slightly deeper in midfield, akin to the 2013/14 season when he played behind Sterling, Luis Suarez and Daniel Sturridge. However, clearly his best work comes from operating further forward, ideally in a central position, as last season showed.

If Rodgers implements a 4-2-3-1 formation next season with Pedro, Firmino and then Coutinho on the left, it will marginalise our No.10 and dampen his effectiveness.

Pedro is not an outright striker and that is the type of player Liverpool desperately need next season, otherwise it would be a similar line-up to Sterling, Coutinho and Adam Lallana from last season when Sturridge was unavailable.

Speaking of Sturridge, his injuries mean he cannot be relied upon. If he returns, he should be competing with another out-and-out striker, rather than bringing in a player such as Pedro to compensate while Sturridge is injured and then effectively play without a proper striker again for the opening months of 2015/16.

Signing Pedro along with another striker creates too much competition for places, unless Lazar Markovic is sold and Jordon Ibe sent out on loan, plus it means Liverpool signing four more players, taking their overall tally to ten and creating a summer window every bit as busy as last year.

Lyon’s Alexandre Lacazette, another star name being linked once again with the club, would be far more preferable than Pedro. Certainly Lacazette would be an upgrade on Christian Benteke, while Zenit’s Salomon Rondon and Javier Hernandez are other options.

I have no dislike for Pedro at all but feel that he should have been on the shortlist of players that ended with Firmino’s arrival.

With the players at his disposal, a 4-3-2-1 or 4-4-2 diamond would make sense for Rodgers, with perhaps more width being implemented in Europa League and domestic cup matches when the likes of Markovic and Ibe will be regular starters.

Liverpool need a strong midfield capable of defence and attack and James Milner and Jordan Henderson cannot hold the fort on their own with four attackers ahead of them. Both like to attack themselves, and it would be too offensive.

Instead, Emre Can, Lucas Leiva or a new defensive midfielder should play alongside Milner and the new skipper, with Coutinho, Firmino and a new striker upfront.

Pedro is indeed a wonderful, perhaps world-class footballer, but the ship for buying that type of player has sailed. Liverpool need to focus on other areas this summer to enjoy a successful resurgence next season.