Liverpool FC: 10 Strikers LFC Could Have Bought with Money Spent on Andy Carroll

There's no doubting that Andy Carroll has divided opinion since signing for Liverpool from Newcastle United for a British record fee of £35 million.

Some people believe the fee was too much; some say he doesn't look interested and hungry; some look at the net cost taking into account the Fernando Torres deal and see it as good business; and some think he just needs more time to settle and will come good with increased pitch time.

Regardless of your opinion, here are a few strikers that Liverpool could have spent that £35 million on.

One thing to bear in mind is that I'm not claiming Liverpool could have actually signed these players; I'm merely exposing some of the other deals that could have happened in a hypothetical world.

Gervinho

Gervinho signed for Arsenal from Lille for £10.7 million in July 2011.

Whilst Gervinho has made a modest start to life in London, he has managed three goals and five assists in the Premier League despite being played out of position on occasion.

Signing Gervinho would have injected some much-needed pace in Liverpool's team, and would have left them over £24 million in the bank.

Demba Ba

The Senegalese striker has been a hit in the Premier League after a successful stint at now-relegated West Ham and more recently Newcastle United.

Ba trails only the sparkling Robin van Persie and Wayne Rooney for goals in 2011 which is an impressive statistic.

Is Ba a better player than Carroll? Ask Newcastle fans who they'd rather have.

Ba signed for Newcastle for free, meaning Liverpool could have had £35 million left in the bank.

Daniel Sturridge

Prior to the employment of Andre Villas-Boas at Chelsea, Sturridge was a fringe player at best and only managed to get himself noticed via an impressive loan spell at Bolton Wanderers.

Despite that loan spell, there were strong rumours that Sturridge was set to leave in the summer, and I believe that if Liverpool had expressed an interest then they would have managed to secure his services for way under the £35 million they paid for Andy Carroll.

Sturridge has seven Premier League goals to his name so far this season.

Mario Balotelli

Manchester City snapped up Mario Balotelli for £22.5 million from Italian Serie A team Inter Milan.

I have no doubts that Roberto Mancini was the catalyst in making the Balotelli deal happen, but if Liverpool had signed the enigmatic striker, they'd be sitting with £12.5 million in their bank account.

Jermaine Defoe

Defoe found his scoring boots in the 2009/10 season and notched his season-best tally of 18 goals with five assists.

A striker consistently hitting double figures over the past five seasons, Defoe has again found himself considering a move after being nudged down the pecking order since the signings of Rafael van der Vaart and Emmanuel Adebayor.

His current market value is estimated at £13 million which would have left Liverpool with £22 million in the bank.

Emmanuel Adebayor

Adebayor signed for Manchester City from Arsenal in 2009 for a fee believed to be around £25 million.

Since then, he has had a stint at Real Madrid and is now doing well on loan at Tottenham Hotspur in the Premier League.

I expect Manchester City to want to recoup most of the transfer fee they paid if they were to sell him despite his current market value estimation of £15 million.

Change from £35 million is practically assured.

Sergio Aguero

OK, so I'm bending the rules a little for this particular slide but for another £3 million Liverpool could have purchased Sergio Aguero at £38 million, which is what Manchester City paid.

Aguero has been superb since signing for Manchester City, notching 11 goals and three assists in 13 appearances in the EPL.

Clint Dempsey

The man who undid us at Craven Cottage on Monday night was Clint Dempsey (besides Kevin Friend) and whilst he is technically an attacking midfielder, he often plays as a forward for Fulham.

Dempsey would cost approximately £10 million according to his market value, and would leave Liverpool with a healthy £25 million in the coffers.

Fernando Llorente

Llorente is a Spanish international who currently plays for Athletic Bilbao in La Liga.

Tottenham were reportedly linked with Llorente in summer for a move valued at £20 million. If Liverpool matched that fee, they'd have £15 million left in the bank.

Darren Bent

Darren Bent signed for Aston Villa from Sunderland in a deal worth £18 million initially, but could rise by another £6 million.

Bent has always been a prolific Premier League goal scorer and is well known for his poaching capabilities.

Bent could have saved Liverpool £11 million or more.

Summary

As I considered my list of alternate players that Liverpool could have signed, it excited me at first but then became rather dull.

Essentially, Liverpool could have signed almost anybody for the fee they paid for Andy Carroll, but some Liverpool fans were blinded by the net cost that involved Torres leaving for Chelsea.

I do believe that Andy Carroll is a player that will come good. I can't think of a target man that has ever been at the top of their game at Carroll's age.

It seems that players in that role develop their skills over time and hit their peak in their late 20s, suggesting there could be hope in the future for the much-maligned Geordie.

One thing for sure is that Liverpool paid way too much for Carroll, whatever his potential may be, as signings such as Demba Ba prove that breaking the bank isn't always the way forward.

Arsene Wenger has continually constructed and reconstructed Arsenal on a low budget and I believe that he has done a fantastic job in doing so. The signings that come in to the club might not always excite Arsenal fans, but they've unearthed some gems along the way.

Wages and transfer fees are spiralling out of control in football, and with them goes a sense of real value.

If Liverpool had bought Carroll for £15 million, I'd have probably read the headlines and said "Well OK he's no Torres but he's young and a great aerial threat, so £15 million is about right."

I hope Liverpool recognise the error they made in what now seems like a panic January buy after losing Torres, and fingers crossed it won't happen again.

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