The absence of a number could spell doom for this Argentine

It was interesting to see on Sunday who Liverpool boss Roy Hodgson would pick to play at left back against Arsenal for a number of reasons. The selection of centre back Daniel Agger to play the position not only shows that Roy is still looking for another left back, but it also really indicates the future of Emiliano Insua. In recent weeks the 22 year old Argentine has been on the verge of two moves away from Anfield, both to Italy with either Fiorentina or Genoa, but both moves fell through after they failed to match his wage demands. At the time of his pending move to Italy, Roy praised the player:

“I saw him play in the last three days and I like him both as a player and on a personal level.”

The failed moves to Italy have however not seen Insua re-introduced into the first team. One of the primary reasons for this is probably the fact that Roy would like the money from his sale to finance a move for another full back. He is hoping that another club will come in for him during the transfer window. This is a belief which is reinforced by the fact that Insua has yet to be given a squad number for the new season. His number 22, which he played with last season, was given to new signing Danny Wilson and the Argentine has yet to be given a replacement number after the moves to Italy collapsed.

His absence from the squad to play Arsenal was also another indicator that he won’t be staying. Fabio Aurelio was given a place on the bench while an out of position centre back Agger was given the left back position in the team against strong opponents. Time is running out then to both offload the Argentine and to bring in a replacement.

Insua is classed as a home-grown player and would count as one of Liverpool’s home-grown contingent of 8 in the 25 man squad for the new season. Without him, the full back’s in the squad will be reduced to Glen Johnson, Fabio Aurelio and Stephen Darby. Another home-grown player will have to be lined up if Insua is finally sold. The most likely candidate would be Paul Konchesky. After playing under Roy at Fulham, the 29 year old will be available relatively cheaply and could help fill the home-grown quota.

Another candidate, although less likely, is Wayne Bridge. The Manchester City full back has lost his place in the team to new signing Aleksandar Kolarov and may look elsewhere for first team football. Two big stumbling blocks for Liverpool would be the fact that City would be unwilling to sell to their rivals, and the sizeable fee that would be needed to prise the player away from Eastlands. City will still need backup in the position and Bridge is an experienced player that Roberto Mancini will be reluctant to let go of.

So where else could Liverpool look for a home-grown player? They could of course keep with Martin Kelly who demonstrated in the second leg against FK Rabotnicki that he is capable of playing in the position. However, as he is under 21, there is no need to include him in the 25 man squad, and so the Reds would have to leave a space in the roster because they don’t have another home-grown player to fill the 8 spots. With his absence from the Liverpool first team, as well as no squad number then, Insua looks set to leave while a replacement looks likely to be sought.

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