Will we miss Yossi Benayoun?

With the confirmation yesterday that Yossi Benayoun has joined Chelsea from Liverpool on a three year contract, have we lost one of our best creative midfield players, or can we do without this 30 year old Israeli international? I’m kind of split on the sale of the player. On the one hand, we may have sold one of our best players on the cheap (rumoured to be in region of £5-6million) to one of our biggest rivals, but on the other hand, we could be selling an inconsistent player who has just turned 30 for a fair price.

There can be no doubting that Yossi contributed a great deal during his time at Anfield, especially at the start of last season, when many of his fellow team-mates were underperforming around him, he was in top form, scoring and creating goals for fun. At the top of his game, the ball sticks to his feet and he can run with the ball and worry any opposition defence. By the end of last season though, his play had begun to be less consistent once again, mainly due to some injuries and due to the fact the rest of the team weren’t performing to their expected levels either.

The Israeli began to get increasingly frustrated with Rafa Benitez not picking him as a first team regular and it led to him at the end of the season questioning his own future at the club. With the departure of Rafa Benitez and the arrival of Roy Hodgson, you would be forgiven for thinking that his mindset may have changed, and he might consider staying at the club, but with the interest from Chelsea, it was probably going to be a losing battle for any new manager to try and make him stay. If a player doesn’t want to be here, then it is always best to let him go.

No doubt his talent to score and create goals for others will be missed but Roy will certainly have his own ideas about what team he wants, and will be looking for a replacement on the wing in the not too distant future. Hodgson has said he has been guaranteed any money from player sales, and so the £5-6million received from Chelsea from his transfer will hopefully go straight into the pot to fund new signings.

Probably the priority for Roy initially will be to seek out a new left back, after all, the squad has only Emiliano Insua to cover the position. With Albert Riera also likely to depart though, it would be sensible for Roy to look towards some attacking wingers, and I think an ideal replacement for both Yossi and Riera could be Galatasaray’s captain Arda Turan. A player who would love to move to Liverpool, he had goals and assists in double figures for the Turkish side last season, and although £6million wouldn’t cover his transfer fee, it would contribute a good deal of the cost.

Benayoun is therefore the first real indication of what Roy Hodgson intends to do. He said to the media yesterday:

“I am quite prepared to follow the guidelines I am given but we need some players; all clubs want players. I certainly would like to come into the club with one or two players coming in with me to freshen everything up and, hopefully, to improve the team. So, I think the fans would appreciate that.”

He has also talked about bringing in some “quality players” to show players who are considering leaving, such as Steven Gerrard, that the club is ambitious and to do this he will have to get rid of some good players, such as Yossi, to bring in some high calibre performers.

Follow us on twitter @live4Liverpool

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