Liverpool Transfer News: Reds Made Mistake in Loaning out Oussama Assaidi

Generally what you do when you're looking to bring in another winger to add depth is not get rid of one of the few wingers you already have.

Unfortunately, that's exactly what Brendan Rodgers has done. Stoke City confirmed on their official website that Oussama Assaidi has signed on a season-long loan.

After moving from Heerenveen last summer, the 25-year-old winger made only four Premier League appearances for Liverpool, two in the League Cup and six in the Europa League during the 2012/13 campaign.

It's clear Rodgers didn't rate Assaidi, for whatever reasons. Exactly what those reasons are/were has yet to come to light. It's a bit of a shame because when Assaidi did appear for Liverpool in the Europa League, he looked like a quick, creative inverted winger.

Although not quite to the same extreme, it's a bit similar to how Rafa Benitez would handle Yossi Benayoun. Benayoun would get subbed on and look like one of the better players on the pitch. That in turn only earned him more sub appearances.

While fans aren't offered the luxury of watching him every day, you wonder why Assaidi wasn't given more of a chance in the side.

The Moroccan winger is the kind of player who will look to cut in from the left and score yet is also capable of setting up his teammates. He could have easily contributed to the Reds this season and should have been much improved from last year after getting that experience in England.

What's worse is that, unless Liverpool can find a replacement, they've got only two players who are natural wingers in the senior side. Raheem Sterling and Luis Alberto are both very young, and it's a lot to put on their shoulders to carry the load during the season.

Jordon Ibe is just 17 years old, so it's unfair to expect him to make more than 10 to 15 EPL appearances this season.

Philippe Coutinho, Iago Aspas, Luis Suarez and Fabio Borini could fill in on the wing when necessary, but they're all better in some sort of central position.

Aside from loaning out Assaidi, Rodgers has also sold Stewart Downing and loaned Suso to Almeria. That's quite a few wingers walking out the door with only Alberto coming back. The 20-year-old has done most of his damage in the Spanish second division and is more one for the future rather than an immediate contributor.

On the pitch, it's hard to see where Liverpool are better off after this move.

There's also the aspect of loaning him to Stoke.

If Rodgers had his way, Assaidi would likely have been sold, rather than loaned out. It's much the same as when Andy Carroll went out on loan last year and then was sold to West Ham this summer.

Whereas West Ham and Carroll are a great partnership, Assaidi is the antithesis of a Stoke City player. He brings some creativity and speed to the attack, but how much is he going to be able to use those attributes?

Just because Tony Pulis has left the Britannia, it doesn't mean the Potters are going to be playing a radically different style. Mark Hughes has used a direct style in Stoke's first two matches, and while that style isn't as physical and cynical as Pulis' was, it's still somewhat similar.

When Assaidi comes back in a year's time, will he be valued that much more than he presently is, and will he have become a better player than before he left? More importantly, would Rodgers even value him, or would it be another Carroll situation, where you just try and sell him again?

Any way you look at it, this was one of Liverpool's worst moves of what has been an otherwise productive summer.