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Four January Targets For LFC

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Subotic is just one of a handful of good signings Liverpool could make this month

Subotic is just one of a handful of good signings Liverpool could make this month

A 2-2 draw with Exeter City from League Two may not be the best result in the world, but when looked at more closely it would not have resembled an all-time cup shock had Liverpool lost.

Of the eleven players who started on Friday night, only Christian Benteke was of first-team stature. Adam Lallana and Lucas Leiva were unused substitutes. Everyone else who began the encounter were either second-string players or youngsters recalled from loan.

Thus this team had barely played together, barely knew anything about each other – what runs they would make, what positions they would take up, etc – and were probably at best Championship standard.

This is not to say that many of the young players who featured will not go on to have elite careers, either at Liverpool or elsewhere, but that currently the difference in quality between the two sides was not the vast chasm that the fixture suggested on paper.

Therefore, coming back to claim a replay in a ground raucous in support for the supposed underdog, on a pitch that resembled more brown than green, showed promising character from the extremely young Liverpool team.

Many will have now probably earned themselves another run-out when the replay rolls around at Anfield, hence adding another fixture to the congested January programme will not resemble such a nightmare as it perhaps seems (although the Reds have lost their last three third-round replays, all at home to lower league opposition).

The Premier League, Europa League and League Cup (given that Liverpool are already in the semi-finals) resemble more important targets this season than the FA Cup, and the Reds need as many players of first-team quality as possible for those competitions.

However, given the injury list, especially over hamstrings, that may prove a difficult task. For varying periods of time, presently Joe Gomez, Kolo Toure, Dejan Lovren, Martin Skrtel, Mamadou Sakho, Philippe Coutinho, Jordan Henderson, Jordon Ibe, Divock Origi, Danny Ings and, sadly but unsurprisingly, Daniel Sturridge are all out of action.

Consequently, Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp needs to dip into the January transfer market to boost the squad with a few additions, even if they have little long-term prospects for the club.

Liverpool are not complete strangers to loan deals, although the majority have been unsuccessful – Nicolas Anelka was an exception to a rule including Aly Cissokho and Victor Moses.

Nevertheless, they do not have to be short-term – Liverpool’s American owners could help bankroll a couple of big signings if need be. The trouble remains finding the right quality of players available to join Liverpool in January.

Here are four players who have been linked with a move to Liverpool in recent times and would resemble successful signings at the right price:

[ffc-gallery]Click to see the four potential January signings.[/ffc-gallery]

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