Van der Vaart, Diarra, Benzema? Great IF we can afford them!

I started off yesterday morning reading an article about how Rafa Benitez will be offered a deal by Juventus he cannot refuse, by the end of the day I had read a few others saying that Liverpool officials were involved in a meeting in Madrid talking to Real about possible transfers this summer. The legendary unreliability of the British media is certainly alive and well!

To look at the more positive reports in the Guardian and the Daily Mirror, Benitez is said to be considering a summer move for Rafael van der Vaart, and with many other Madrid players surplus to requirements this summer, including Lassana Diarra and Karim Benzema, it seems that Rafa is looking into the possibility of lining up some deals with the Madrid club. According to the Mirror, Diarra is also a target for the Reds, and he is seen as a holding midfield player who could allow Lucas to play in a more advanced role. While, a less likely, but still surprising report is that Benzema is also a target for Liverpool.

Of course, this all could be much ado about nothing if there is no money in place for transfers this summer. It would take substantial amounts of cash for both Benzema and Diarra but the most interesting for me is the apparent interest in van der Vaart. I have always been a great fan of the Dutch playmaker since his days at Ajax, and despite being seemingly unwanted at the start of the season (he was not even given a squad number), he has forced his way into Real’s starting eleven with some impressive displays in the absence of the injured Kaka.

Many Madrid fans feel he is more deserving of his place in the team than the £56m signing from Milan, but there is every likelihood that he will be on his way from the Bernabeu in the summer as Florentino Perez looks to make way for some more expensive signings. £7million could be all that it would take to bring the 27 year old to Anfield, and I for one would be absolutely delighted if it went ahead. According to the Mirror, the Reds are looking to do a deal before the World Cup, and I think it would be a tremendous coup for the club. At such a low price I think even Liverpool at the moment would be able to stretch their funds to finance a move for the player. A player who can play in attacking midfield or in a wide position, it would give the squad some much needed attacking flair.

The midfield that played against Burnley yesterday was near to full strength for me as the Reds could get, Babel-Aquilani-Mascherano-Gerrard-Maxi is a good midfield and with the addition of van der Vaart on the flank or in Gerrard’s support striker position with the Reds captain reverting to a more familiar central midfield, we would have a much more positive and attack minded team. The question remains whether the Dutchman would be interested in joining us but if there is any possibility of signing him, I would go for it. The win against Burnley was the Reds first away victory in the Premier League this year, the only way to turn this around next year is to have players of the quality of van der Vaart or Arda Turan who can change games when things are not going so well in the final third. There are certainly positive soundings coming out of Merseyside at the moment anyway.

Follow us on twitter @live4Liverpool

Live4Liverpool is recruiting columnists. For further info contact the site editor at editor@live4liverpool.com