Liverpool: Can Sturridge replace Suarez?

They won’t have European football next season and with the likes of Monaco, PSG, Madrid and Manchester City willing to throw big bucks for players (read Falcao), it is going to be a tough summer to get new recruits to Anfield. Deal for Iago Aspas, the Celta Vigo will be completed soon and a fit again Fabio Borini would be raring to go next season and provide some impetus up front. Kolo Toure has already signed a deal to join the club from July (free transfer from City) and there are talks of signing the Greek defender Papadopoulos from Schalke and Tiago Llori, the Portuguese central defender from Sporting Lisbon. Both are young and would fit into the FSG policy of signing young players and then developing them.

Liverpool have also been linked with the Ukranian League’s player of the year, Henrikh Mkhitaryan from Shakhtar Donetsk. The price tag might be hard to digest for some but he does seem to be a talent, scoring 25 goals in the league for Shakhtar last season. There were a few rumors about Christian Eriksen being a realistic target for Liverpool but not much has developed so far. The team would certainly be looking to upgrade on their wingers as well, Downing could be one of the who makes way. Downing did have a decent 2^nd half to the season but Rodgers might need to increase funds to buy more players. Assaidi, Skrtel and Shelvey could also be heading for the exit door to free up more funds. Andy Carroll, the forgotten 35 million pound striker, is close to making a 15 million pound switch to West Ham United.

A few crazy rumors doing the rounds is that Liverpool are tracking the status of Carlos Tevez and Edin Dzeko. Tevez has only 1 year left in his deal and would be available on the cheap while Dzeko could also be on his way out. It would however be hard to sign the strikers since there is no European football to offer form Liverpool’s side. Liverpool and Spurs also are chasing Belgian winger Nacer Chadli of FC Twente, who has played 9 times for the national team. Simon Mignolet is also a target for Liverpool, even though Pepe Reina has stated he would stay at the club for the next season. The Reds seem bent on increasing their keeping options, as the Hungarian Peter Gulacsi left the club, probably trying to give Reina competition and have a decent cover for the Spanish star as well.

Whatever happens, Liverpool would want to close all their transfer dealings as early as possible, they are on the right track by signing a couple of players well before any transfer ramblings begin. Liverpool would not want another Fernando Torres saga with Suarez. They would get a sizable sum for the Uruguayan, talks of it being between 45-50 million pounds and would invest the same into making the squad stronger rather than splurge it on one big name. This could be a defining summer for Liverpool but isn’t the same thing said every summer?.