Liverpool Transfer News: Brendan Rodgers Wise to Avoid Inflated Market Prices

The allure of the transfer window is often hard to resist. That's especially true for a new manager like Brendan Rodgers, who has been tasked with turning around Liverpool. Give him credit for not going overboard during his first summer with the Reds.

Rodgers has been surprised by the asking prices for many of his targets and quickly learned taking control of Liverpool is a completely different animal than Swansea City or any of his previous managing stops, according to Chris Wheeler of the Daily Mail.

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It’s always complex at a big club but what I’ve learnt here very quickly is that the minute Liverpool are interested it adds about two noughts onto the price tag of a player.

It’s probably a wee bit frustrating for everyone, including myself, that we haven’t got signings coming in quicker, but I think we’ve seen that the squad we’ve got here is already a good one. I’m just trying to improve it a little.

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Fans were probably expecting a busy summer with Rodgers taking the reins, but the Reds have made just two additions with their season set to get underway on Saturday against West Bromwich Albion.

Liverpool has brought in Fabio Borini and Joe Allen, who was a key piece of the puzzle for Rodgers during his time at Swansea. While they are both players capable of making an impact, they aren't the type of high-profile moves that usually draw acclaim.

Instead, Rodgers has exercised caution when looking at bigger names like Clint Dempsey and Nuri Sahin. With the constant pressure to perform at a storied club like Liverpool, other managers might have felt the need to overpay for one of those talented attacking options.

The fact of the matter is that Liverpool still has a ways to go before competing with the likes of Manchester City and Manchester United atop the Premier League table. One big move isn't going to suddenly change that.

Even though that's always going to be the ultimate goal, it's going to take a long-term process to get back to that level on an annual basis. Building a strong foundation first with moves like Borini and Allen is the right plan of attack.

Again, they aren't the type of transfers that will cause the fanbase to erupt with joy, but they will provide consistency in areas of need. Without that, bringing in a high-priced transfer target would simply be a waste of money anyway.

Once Rodgers feels confident in his base, then it will be time to go after players like Dempsey and Sahin, who are capable of taking a team to the next level when they are in top form.

Signing them now—and paying top dollar—would be a major risk. Unless the prices drop, he's better off staying the course, at least for now.