Who takes priority out of these 5 potential summer signings?

WITH the disappointment of the derby out of the way, further frustration followed with news that our captain, Mr. Gerrard, is out for the season (add to that list, Daniel Agger too). It’s a clear sign that the season is officially, 100% over.

We’d all suspected this for months, if we’re honest, but the Scouse optimism wouldn’t let us admit it until recently. With that in mind, it’s time to look to the summer and to where – or on whom – we need to place all of our attention.

A quick glance at the papers every morning for the past 3 months will have told you that we’re more-or-less chasing every player in Europe and one or two in South America/Asia/Australasia.

If our scouting network was truly that extensive, then there’d be serious questions to be asked of why our transfer policy hasn’t been all that impressive in recent years.

So, to make things easier I’m going to break things down and pick out who I believe are likely to be some of our top transfer targets over the summer, based on word of mouth, gossip and what many consider to be ‘reliable’ sources.

5. Ashley Williams – It is actually beginning to scare me how frequently and how seriously we’re being linked with the Swansea captain. Williams who turns 29 this year has been at Swansea for the best years of his career but only two of those have been spent in the Premier League.

There is no denying that Williams is one of the better defenders outside of the top 4-5 clubs, and while he’s a good, solid defender there are serious doubts that he has what it takes to step up to play for a top club in big games and at the highest level, in European football.

A few years younger and the Welshman may well be worth investing in, as defenders generally don’t reach their peak until past 27 but I would probably have to defer to FSG’s judgement that this isn’t a player we should be looking at.

Central defence is a position we need to add to during the summer but the likes of Stefan de Vrij and Douglas would be much more suitable options, and anybody that means we’re not signing yet another of Brendan’s former Swansea players can only really be a good thing.

4. Loic Remy – The Frenchman who opted to sign for QPR in the January transfer window hasn’t done what you would call ‘setting the world alight’ since he signed for the newly relegated side but he’s shown enough glimpses of quality both in France and in his brief spell in the Premier League to perhaps be worth a shot.

5 goals in 11 games for a side that has proved to be even more miserable since Harry Redknapp took over is nothing to sniff at and with a bit more quality around him he may well be a decent backup to the likes of Suarez and Sturridge. Provided the price is right. There are almost certainly better options around but given that we have no European football next season, we can’t really start being too choosey at this stage in our ‘development’.

For many, a better option would be to bring Andy Carroll back and see what we can get out of him for a season before committing to signing another striker and, personally, unless Remy could be signed on the cheap and at least half of what we paid for Carroll recouped, I would have to agree.
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3. Christian Eriksen – The Danish Ajax midfielder has been a long-term link for Liverpool and has often been linked with rivals Manchester United, Arsenal and Manchester City.

Rumours are however, that the Reds have already got a deal in place for the player in the summer. It’s one of those that just refuses to go away and, in many ways, it’s one of the more welcome long-term rumours.

With over 45 assists and 21 goals in the past two seasons for Ajax, the 21 year old is a prospect that will excite many a Red and his international experience coupled to his club he would easily be a ‘pass’ when tallied up against FSG’s ‘buy young, with sell-on value’ that we’re led to believe has blocked one or two transfers over the past few years.

At a reported £15-£17 million, he wouldn’t come cheap, by any means, but he would certainly be an exciting addition to any Liverpool XI.

While there are many midfield options available these days, I doubt we’d find many better (or likely to get even better) than the young Danish maestro.

2. Xabi Alonso – The former Red is a great hero of mine so this entry is perhaps a bit biased. The rumours may also have quietened down in the past few weeks but given that Alonso’s future was intimately tied to Jose Mourinho’s, it will be interested to see these rumours reach a crescendo again in the coming weeks, as it has now become obvious that the Madrid manager is odds on to return to his former club, Chelsea.

If the 31 year old Spanish midfielder was to return to Liverpool it would be the biggest coup the club have pulled off since Fernando Torres signed for the club. Many would argue that Luis Suarez was a bigger signing but Suarez was merely considered a top striker when the club signed him, while Alonso is one of the top 5 midfielders in Europe; a bonified world-class performer.

At this stage, nothing is clear about the future of Xabi and that is why there is still hope that he may well return. His class and experience would add something we’ve missed since he left and he would hopefully rub off on some of the younger midfielders at the club.

Mark this down as a ‘one can only hope’ but it may be a case of ‘you will never know until you try’. We probably wouldn’t make a single better signing this summer.

1. Hatem Ben Arfa – This is a strange one. The Frenchman had been linked to the club some time before he signed for Newcastle United but he is the one that just won’t seem to go away, in terms of constantly being linked with the club.

And while he wouldn’t be a particularly bad signing, there are doubts over his consistency and injury track-record but the Frenchman clearly has talent.

The one concern for me is that Ben Arfa is meant to be a creative element and yet his track-record for goals and assists is hardly impressive. With the likes of Downing already at the club and contributing little in that regard, it would probably not be wise to splash out big on another ‘proven’ Premier League wide-man.

As with Loic Remy, the 26 year old would be an option, given our current predicament but he wouldn’t come cheap and Newcastle have a proven record of being able to rinse us, so we would perhaps be best avoiding Ben Arfa and ploughing those funds into a genuine marquee signing.
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