Kuyt’s Loss will be which Reds player’s gain?

News today that Liverpool’s Dirk Kuyt will be out for four weeks after damaging his shoulder on international duty means there will be an opportunity in the next few weeks for another Reds player to shine in his position. I have listed four potential replacements for Kuyt below:

Maxi Rodriguez – A frustrating start to the season for the Argentinean international for one reason or another, and has had to be satisfied with a place on the bench in recent weeks as Roy Hodgson has opted to pick Kuyt ahead of him. Certainly the prime candidate to take over from the Dutchman and he could cement his place in the side with a string of good performances in coming games. Like Kuyt, he is not blessed with the greatest amount of pace but his experience on the wing for club and country will be invaluable. He can cross and shoot from long range, and would offer a different approach to the one currently being employed by Roy by having two wide forwards in Kuyt and Milan Jovanovic. An important part of Diego Maradona’s World Cup side; he could become an important member of the Reds first team if he comes up with a number of consistent quality performances.

Ryan Babel – An unlikely option, considering both Roy Hodgson and the player see him as a striker rather than a winger, but his pace and direct style still make him an option on the right side. Generally used on the left wing by Rafa Benitez, Babel hasn’t really had a run in the side on the right wing where he would be playing on his favoured right foot. His pace would certainly open up opposition defences and provide the team with width and the opportunity to stretch a defence’s backline. He may also be willing to play the role to demonstrate his abilities in the team. What worries me though is whether he can be a consistent enough runner with the ball; will he run into dead ends and deliver poor quality crosses? For me, he hasn’t played the position for a long enough stretch to see whether he can perform consistently. The player has something to prove, and we need pace and width; it could be worth a try.

Dani Pacheco – Roy has shown a lot of faith in the Spanish forward and picked the youngster to play in a similar position against FK Rabotnicki at Anfield in the Europa League tie. The Spaniard said after the match that he enjoyed playing in the position on both flanks, and his creativity, youth and speed could be a tremendous asset for the team. Pacheco has said that Roy has talked to him about given him greater first team opportunities this season and this could well be his chance. Although he would not provide a great deal of width in the position, he could play in a similar way to Dirk Kuyt, and play in a wide forward role. Interchanging with Joe Cole and Milan Jovanovic, he could be part of a dynamic front four with Torres, with assistance from Steven Gerrard and Raul Meireles in central midfield. Although an outside bet, his ability to score goals and create opportunites for others could be ideal with Liverpool struggling in the final third.

Outsider – David Amoo – I am suggesting David for one reason: pace. Out of the four suggestions here, Amoo is not only quick like Ryan Babel but can play the wide position much more naturally than his Dutch team-mate. Saying that though, he is still very young, but Roy did give him his opportunity in the first leg against FK Rabotnicki in the Europa League, and he did impress. You can only find out a player’s ability by playing him in big matches. It would be a brave punt by Hodgson and it would be determined as to whether Roy thinks he is ready for first team action.

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