Liverpool Transfer Speculation: Loaning Carroll and Getting Dempsey Makes Sense

Brendan Rodgers recently secured his first signing as manager of Liverpool by making Fabio Borini his first acquisition. Following that event, news has started pouring in linking the Reds to another name in Fulham's Clint Dempsey.

Speculation around these happenings has also dragged in Andy Carroll into the transfer mix. Reports from Caughtoffside.com suggested that a loan deal for Carroll with Fulham could be struck by Liverpool. In my opinion, the Reds should not think twice and go ahead with paying a negotiated value for Dempsey and sending Carroll on loan the other way.

Carroll's situation is divided among the Liverpool faithful. Some say that he will not fit into the new system and should be offloaded. Others are more patient and want to give Carroll another season to prove himself after seeing glimpses of his undoubted ability towards the end of last season for Liverpool and partly in the Euros for England.

Signing Dempsey—and I stress—at the right price, will be great but taking a hit on Carroll after paying £35 million for him just 18 months ago would be unwise. Unless Rodgers is working on a tight budget, I do not see the need for Carroll to be sold to bring in cash to the coffers for strengthening other areas.

Moreover, Fulham are a team that play it on the ground and will presumably not be looking to acquire Carroll for playing long ball throughout the season. This bodes well for the Reds as Carroll will be learning a system from which he will immediately be able to adapt to Rodgers' tactics upon coming back.

If Carroll is able to work his socks off and improve, he may still have a future at Anfield. Besides, even if the Reds perform very well under Rodgers and the gaffer does not see the need for Carroll, the Reds will still be providing every chance for Carroll's value to increase by sending him on loan. 

With Carroll finally showing signs of fitness and improvement after recovering from injury, there is every reason to believe that he will perform and show his value next season. In such a scenario, Liverpool should loan him if they believe that they have enough strikers and more importantly, if they have enough funds to strengthen the team this summer. 

Dempsey on the other hand, will be a very apt acquisition to complement Luis Suarez and Fabio Borini. The American is in form by the looks of his stats from the previous two seasons and his versatility will make him a great asset.

Whether he is played in midfield or as the furthest striker, Dempsey will offer great value along with being a workhorse. He will be like Dirk Kuyt, but only better as he enters the best period in his career.

Liverpool found it hard to unlock teams last season at home because of limited creativity. Everything was very static for the Reds in offense under Kenny Dalglish, but with his crafty movement, Dempsey will provide one of the options for the midfielders to release a ball.   

With the amount spent on Carroll, along with his presumed inability to fit in with the system, Rodgers finds himself in a tough spot. The best thing which will also make sense would be to loan him and buy Dempsey for around £7 million.