Liverpool FC Thread #157 :- LFC. This means more.

[elimmel]

What do you think?

[nywa78]

Originally Posted by elimmel

What do you think?

Both are shit

[NI KI]

lol...we need a worldclass GK and a new GK coach

[NI KI]

There are a few positions Liverpool could do with strengthening before the season starts again.

With the World Cup over attentions are quickly turning back to the Premier League and the transfer market which will undoubtedly come alive now all players have been relinquished of their international duties.

Indeed, the Reds are now free to negotiate without the distraction of events in Russia - and the rumour mill can ramp things up.

So, we looked at where the Reds need to strengthen and who might be available to slot in at Anfield based on their performances on the biggest of international stages.

Goalkeeper

It is no great secret that the Reds first-choice goalkeeper is under a bit of pressure .

Loris Karius' mistake against Tranmere Rovers last week, which gifted the League Two side a goal, came off the back of a complete meltdown during the Champions League final.

The German goalkeeper's confidence looks shot to pieces and with Jurgen Klopp considering Danny Ward in the role and Simon Mignolet expected to leave, the Reds might still need to buy a stopper this summer.

Alisson Becker



It will come as no great surprise that Alisson is top of the list here.

Everyday another rumour springs up that Liverpool have put in an offer for the highly-rated Brazilian shot-stopper - just this morning foreign papers were reporting the Reds had put in a €70m offer for the Roma goalkeeper.

Liverpool had scouted Alisson intensively only to distance themselves from a deal earlier this summer, but that won't stop the rumours from flowing.

Danijel Subašić



Liverpool were linked with the Monaco number one last summer but he signed a new three-year deal with the French club which looked set to keep him in Ligue 1 until 2020.

He widely impressed at the World Cup, taking Croatia to the final and saving penalties in some style, so there is potential he could be lured away with several reports including from Calcio Mercato suggesting similar.

Robin Olsen



Sweden's goalkeeper was impressive during the World Cup having kept a clean sheet in three out of the five games the country played in.

He currently plays for F.C. Coenhagen and surely if Liverpool were to approach him, the lure of the Premier League and guaranteed Champions League group game football would make the prospect of signing very tempting for the 28-year-old.

[NI KI]

Attacking midfielder



The signing of Xherdan Shaqiri proves Liverpool's intent to bolster their midfield and manager Jurgen Klopp is keen to add a No.10 to fill the void left by Philippe Coutinho.

So here are some other options of, potentially available, impressive World Cup attacking midfielders that could be brought to Anfield.

Nabil Fekir

Liverpool could definitely look at rekindling talks with the superb 24-year-old World Cup winner.

Fekir looked to be on his way earlier this summer but a £53m deal collapsed on medical grounds.

The player is reported to have has reached an agreement that Lyon president Jean Michel Aulas will at least speak to the Reds to explore the prospect of resurrecting his "dream" move.

Whether that happens remains to be seen, but Fekir is somebody who Klopp is a big fan of.

Aleksandr Golovin



The 22-year-old was the most highly talked about Russian players before the World Cup began and despite playing for the lowest ranked team in the tournament did not disappoint.

Scoring once and providing two assists over four games the CSKA Moscow player helped his team into the quarter finals - only knocked out by some heroics in the penalty shootout by the formerly-mentioned Subašić.

Arsenal, Chelsea and Juventus are all reportedly interested in acquiring the youngster's signature so there'd be no harm in joining that race for the Reds.

Ivan Perišić



Was incredible at the World Cup and despite being on the losing side in the final could still easily be argued as the best player on the pitch.

The 29-year-old missed less than 30 minutes of game time at the tournament, scored three goals - including one in the final - and assisted another.

The Inter Milan player, who can play anywhere across the attacking midfield three, is said to be on the radar of a number of clubs and would be an wonderful addition to Liverpool's line up.

[NI KI]

Forward



Undoubtedly, Roberto Firmino is the star of this position. He had a stunning last season and in the 81 minutes over the five games he played at the World Cup for Brazil he scored and provided an assist - prompting many questions to be asked of manager Tite as to why he wasn't starting the Reds' forward over Gabriel Jesus, who failed to net even once.

In a starting 11 there is no issue here but there remains questions for Klopp over who he would bring in to replace Firmino if he ever needed a midweek rest or, God forgive, took a knock.

There is Daniel Sturridge, he's looked sharp after returning from loan at West Bromwich Albion but eyebrows are often raised over his physical state.

Divock Origi is another potential replacement but the striker has looked half the player he was after a difficult spell on loan at Wolfsburg last year.

Dominic Solanke is seen as a work in progress, Danny Ings is yet to feature and wants a move to carry on his career elsewhere and Rhian Brewster has yet to play a minute of first-team football despite being hailed as the next academy star.

With all this taken into account here are three players who impressed at the World Cup and are potentially available for the Reds to approach.

Dries Mertens



The Belgian striker would arguably be the perfect replacement, or even partner, to Firmino - should Liverpool make a statement of intent to sign him.

He found the net at the World Cup, provided an assist and appeared six times as his team finished third.

The 31-year-old was in prolific form for Napoli last season and reportedly has a release clause of just £24m so could make a for very interesting watching.

Denis Cheryshev



Four goals in five matches made him indispensable to Russia at the World Cup.

On that performance the former Real Madrid could be a great addition to boost the attacking options for Liverpool.

Plus, at 27 and playing for Villarreal, the prospect of getting back to Champions League football would no doubt be a very exciting one were the Reds to ever think about making a move.

Timo Werner



He might not have had the best World Cup but on that basis the German forward may well have a point to prove.

At only 22, he started all three games for the former world champions and he could well be tempted into a move to join former team-mate Naby Keita at Anfield if Liverpool contact RB Leipzig and make a bid.

[NI KI]

Alisson Becker is expected to hold talks with Roma on Tuesday over his future – with speculation intensifying over an imminent bid from Liverpool.

Reports in Italy claim the Brazil international will have discussions with the Serie A side after returning from a break following World Cup duty.

His agent Ze Maria Neis, who looks after the goalkeeper as part of his Neis World Sports agency, is believed ready to speak to Roma and explain his client wants to leave.

While Roma have yet to receive a concrete offer for the player, it's suggested they are braced for an imminent offer with Liverpool and Chelsea most strongly touted.

And there have been signs pointing to an imminent departure for Alisson, who has removed Roma from his Instagram bio.

That follows a move where Ze Maria Neis liked a photoshopped imagea of Alisson wearing a Liverpool shirt on Instagram.

For their part, Liverpool had been monitoring the Brazilian but believe prising him away from the Serie A side would prove difficult given the player's believed price tag in excess of 70million euros – although there are indications that, should Alisson press for a move, Roma may have to lower such demands.

Roma are wary of having their fingers burned after last year selling Mohamed Salah to Liverpool for what now appears a cut-price £36.9m.

There has been no contact with Roma and as yet no change in the Reds' stance from earlier this year when they informed Alisson's representatives not to expect a bid this summer.

[NI KI]

Liverpool have reportedly been informed they have until the end of the month to reignite interest in France World Cup winner Nabil Fekir.

A report in French newspaper L'Equipe claimed on Tuesday that Lyon want the player's future sorted before August as they look to plan for the new season.

Jurgen Klopp is keen to sign an attacking midfielder this summer with Fekir having been scouted extensively last season.

Fekir was on the brink of moving to Anfield last month before the Reds pulled the plug on the transfer following his medical.

Liverpool had agreed a deal worth an initial 55million euros plus 5m euros in add-ons and Fekir had even recorded an interview with the club website ahead of his unveiling.



Following the failed deal, Fekir linked up with the France squad for the World Cup and appeared as substitute in their 4-2 win over Croatia in the final in Moscow on Sunday.

Speaking earlier this week, Lyon chairman Jean-Michel Aulas believes there's a chance Fekir will still end up at Liverpool this summer, but would be more than happy for the 24-year-old to stay at his hometown club.

Fekir has in recent weeks been linked with interest from a number of clubs including Real Madrid and Manchester United, but it's believed he has set his heart on a move to Liverpool.

[NI KI]

Marko Grujic loan deal blocked by agent

Liverpool have agreed to allow Marko Grujic to re-join Cardiff City on loan but the move is being held up by the player’s agent.

The Serbia international made 14 appearances for the South Wales club during the second half of last season, helping the club win promotion back to the Premier League.



Manager Neil Warnock is busy preparing his squad for the new campaign and though a deal is in place to bring Gruijic back to Cardiff but the move is being blocked by his representative Zoran Stojadinovic.

Warnock said: ‘No updates (on Grujic), not really,’

‘I think his agent – as they do – thinks he can try and make more money somewhere else but Liverpool want him to come and I think it’ll be good for him. ‘We’ll have to see how it develops. But we won’t wait forever.’

[NI KI]

Liverpool winger Harry Wilson is on the brink of agreeing a season-long loan to Derby County.

Wilson has been in demand with the Reds ready to once again allow the 21-year-old to depart for the Championship in search of regular first-team football.

And now the Wales international, who signed a new long-term contract at Anfield last week, is close to finalising a deal to join Frank Lampard's Derby, with Liverpool anticipating the deal to go through in the next 48 hours.

As many as 12 Championship clubs enquired about Wilson, who scored seven goals in 13 games during a loan spell at Hull City in the second half of last season.

Swansea City and Norwich City were among the interested clubs, while Stoke City enquired about Wilson during discussions that saw Xherdan Shaqiri make a £13million switch to Anfield last Friday.

Celtic also tabled a loan bid but the offer was turned down flat by Liverpool with the Reds mindful of how Brendan Rodgers' side used loan signings last season.



Instead, Derby soon emerged as clear favourites with Wilson now on the verge of moving to Pride Park, with Liverpool preferring to release the player to an English club that can guarantee the winger's game time.

Wilson scored twice in the 7-0 friendly win at Chester City 10 days ago and had previously said he hoped to use pre-season to stake a claim for first-team football at Liverpool.

However, he was left out of last weekend's goalless draw at Bury in expectation of another loan move.