Nuri Sahin: Liverpool Needs to Offload Underperforming Midfielder This January

World football fans might be surprised to know that Nuri Sahin is still a member of Liverpool.

The Turkish midfielder arrived at Anfield with quite a bit of hype. While he hardly featured in the Real Madrid starting lineup last year, nobody doubts the talent he possesses.

Sahin won the Bundesliga Player of the Year in 2010/11 while at Borussia Dortmund. That was the club where Sahin was at his best.

Now, it appears that he may be returning to the Westfalenstadion. John Edwards of the Daily Mail is reporting that Dortmund will be offering a lifeline to Sahin.

This comes after Dortmund general manager Michael Zorc told German newspaper Bild that the club would be more than open to a move (via ESPN FC).

Regardless of his final destination, Sahin needs to leave Liverpool by the end of the month.

The midfielder has only made 12 appearances during the season across the Carling Cup, Europa League and Premier League.

At Anfield, he is simply surplus to requirements, and Liverpool can't afford to pay £70,000 a week to a player simply to have him sit on the bench.

The club's transfer budget relies heavily on the wage bill, so having him still on the squad is preventing the Reds from pursuing more reinforcements.

Quite frankly, at this stage there's no reason for him to stay.

There's no place for Sahin in the team at the moment. The Reds already have a stable core of midfielders in Steven Gerrard, Jonjo Shelvey, Lucas, Jordan Henderson and Joe Allen.

Really, if Sahin is only going to be here for the rest of the season, the motivation to play him is relatively low.

The Reds are rebuilding. The aforementioned midfielders will be at the club in the years to come. Therefore, they should get the most time on the pitch.

When Sahin was on the pitch, Brendan Rodgers often played him out of position. The midfielder made his opinion very clear. The Mail quoted him as saying last month:

"

"I've played my whole career deeper—that's my position."

"But I have played as a No. 10 here. It was new for me but I tried my best."

"If I could choose a position it would be hold, as I feel more comfortable playing deeper and can give my all."

"

To a certain extent, he has a point. Sure, players should be adaptable. But if you have a player who won a player of the year award in the Bundesliga as a holding midfielder, then maybe you should deploy him as a holding midfielder.

Sahin was going to need some time to adjust to the Premier League, yet he was never really given a fair shot.

Liverpool knows where its future lies in midfield, and Sahin isn't a part of that.