Liverpool miss out on Mkhitaryan – what next for the club?

What next for Liverpool after missing out on Henrik Mkhitaryan?

Liverpool gave it everything in their bid to sign Henrikh Mkhitaryan from Shakhtar Donetsk. They agreed to meet the transfer fee asked by Shakhtar, meet the wage demands of the player, and even negotiate with the complicated ownership issue.

The player was clearly Liverpool’s main target as their marquee signing of this transfer window; and while missing out on him is a big blow, all is not lost for the club. Liverpool have to accept that they couldn’t do anything more to sign him; but now that he’s chosen to sign for Borussia Dortmund instead, they have to keep the disappointment aside and move quickly to sign someone else for the position of an attacking midfielder.

Mkhitaryan can’t be faulted for choosing Dortmund over Liverpool. Dortmund are the Champions League finalists and have shown excellent form in Bundesliga, winning the league in the 2010-11 and 2011-12 seasons. Managed by Jürgen Klopp, the team have been playing a brand of attacking football which has impressed everyone.

Dortmund have lost Mario Götze to Bayern Munich, and might see some other top players move as well for big cash. This offers Mkhitaryan an opportunity to cement his place in the first-team and contribute to the club’s cause of continuing the good work done recently.

Coming back to Liverpool, it is believed that they had three players on their shortlist: Mkhitaryan, Ajax’s Christian Eriksen and Hatem Ben Arfa of Newcastle United. With Mkhitaryan now ruled out, Liverpool must waste no time in signing Eriksen or Ben Arfa (before someone else, most likely Tottenham, pops up to sign the player instead).

The young Dane Eriksen has been linked with Liverpool in the past too. His profile fits the kind of player that Brendan Rodgers is looking to sign. He is yet to commit to Ajax, or any other club, for the next season, and it could be the perfect opportunity for Liverpool to sign him. Available at a transfer fee of around £15 million, Rodgers is now likely to make the prodigious midfielder his priority. The presence of Eriksen’s international teammate Daniel Agger at Liverpool will be helpful too.

Like Eriksen, Hatem Ben Arfa has been rumoured to be a transfer target for Liverpool previously too. Described as one of the best French talents, the player has impressed at Newcastle. He had problems with injury and form in the last season, but Rodgers rates the player highly and might be interested to move to sign him.

If Liverpool want to look beyond Eriksen and Ben Arfa, then they could explore the idea of signing Michu from Swansea or Marek Hamsik from Napoli. Michu had an excellent 2012-13 season as a striker, but his role at Rayo Vallecano was more of an attacking midfielder. Hamsik has also done well recently, and can fit the profile of a goal-scoring midfielder for Liverpool.

While Liverpool have done a good job by sealing the purchases of Toure, Aspas, Alberto and Mignolet quickly, the outcome of their 2013-14 season might be largely dependent on the success of Eriksen, Ben Arfa or whoever else they sign for this role. (Of course if Suarez is sold, then he needs to be replaced efficiently too, but that’s something to be discussed at another time).

Missing out on Mkhitaryan gave Liverpool a reality check that their absence from European football will influence the decisions of top players to sign for them. But despite this handicap, Rodgers has done a good job in signing players who will add value to the Liverpool team; and signing a good attacking midfielder might just prove to be final piece of the jigsaw puzzle that would complete the team that Rodgers wants to build for the 2013-14 season.