A close look at Liverpool’s summer so far

Potential Transfers OUT

Stewart Downing

Even if Downing can plateau himself as Liverpool’s first-choice winger, he is still going to be linked with an exit. Stewart Downing was never worth the 20 million that Liverpool paid for him. He might be efficient in a stretch of games, but in the long run he is going to burn out. If a club can come up with an offer close to 8-10 million pounds for Downing, Liverpool should offload him. With Brendan Rodgers adding more options on the attack, Downing’s days at Anfield are numbered.

Luis Suarez

He could be the team’s best player, but Suarez’s association with controversies has heaped a pile of dirt on the club’s image. Moreover, his antics with the media don’t seem likely to cease any time soon and he has publicly declared his interest to join Real Madrid. Will Liverpool miss him? Not as much as the hype says, as Liverpool performed clinically in attack during his absence. But do they need to let him go? I think they should as the 40-50 million pounds Liverpool could make of his transfer could be used to sign Mkhitaryan and Papadopoulos.

Martin Skrtel

While the rumour mill had overdriven the Slovak out of Liverpool, his departure looks more and more unlikely as reports seem to have died down. Coming off a remarkable 2011-12, Skrtel did himself no favours with his erroneous showings at centre back. Zenit seem to be interested in buying the defender back, but only for a cut-price deal. A year ago, Man City wanted Skrtel for close to 15 million pounds. Today, he could be shipped out for as much as just 7 million with even the biggest of his admirers, Napoli, taking a back seat. A lesson learned that a single season could inveterately diminish your market value.

Injury updates

Daniel Sturridge is scheduled to return late in September but skipper Steven Gerrard has made a quicker-than-expected recovery from surgery and is now back in training. There have been no return dates set for Joe Allen, Martin Kelly, and Raheem Sterling – who looked to be set to miss the entirety of Liverpool’s pre-season fixtures and the start of the Premier League. A player Liverpool need to be fit sooner than later is first choice centre-back, Daniel Agger. He missed the final two games of last season, but Liverpool fans are hoping for him to start in defence against Stoke in August.

Contract updates

Anfield managed to successfully sign no. 51 Lloyd Jones to his first professional contract. Known for his aerial presence, Jones is one of the club’s most prized assets in the Kirkby setup.

Stadium saga

Liverpool’s boardroom has opted to stay at Anfield and work on a 150 million pound development program. A move to Stanley Park was on the cards, but after a voice of displeasure from the city the management has decided to have a refurbished 60,000 venue at L4 with around 7,000 ‘corporate seats’. Fenway Sports Group has decided to pursue a phased expansion at Anfield rather than proceed with a new 400 million pound stadium.