Liverpool Told to Sign Lars Bender of Bayer Leverkusen by Jan Molby

Former Liverpool midfielder Jan Molby has given his take on who would make the ideal signing for Brendan Rodgers this January, highlighting Lars Bender as the man to take his old club forward.

In a Liverpool Echo column, Molby comments on the versatile presence that Bender brings to the Bayer Leverkusen midfield and tips him as "the younger version of Steven Gerrard," adding:

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There are a lot of top players in Germany and I look at Bender and believe he is the real deal. For me, he ticks all the boxes.

Where some would say that Lucas needs to give the side another 20%, Rodgers may be delighted with what the Brazilian is doing for the team. And so the manager may want to add a midfielder who is a bit more forward thinking.

I would like to see Liverpool add a player who is the younger version of Steven Gerrard. That style of all-round midfielder.

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It's no surprise that Molby might be one of those looking for a successor to one of the greatest players Liverpool has ever known, Gerrard now entering his twilight years and turning 34 in May.

However, Bender would be no easy pick for the Reds considering it was only last month that the Daily Mail Online's John Edwards reported he had signed a new six-year deal at the Bay Arena, making a massive statement of his loyalty in the process.

This means Bender would be 30 years of age by the time his contract comes to an end, so it's safe to say that the anchorman is happy in his current environment.

That's not to say a club like Liverpool could not tempt him before 2019, but they would likely face a significant compensation fee to buy him out of the agreement he has with Leverkusen.

Starting out as a defensive midfielder, the 24-year-old has expanded his horizons exponentially in recent seasons and is now a much more mobile sort of box-to-box asset, a role his twin brother Sven also likes to play at Borussia Dortmund.

In 13 appearances in all competitions for the Factory Squad this season, Bender has scored two goals and converted on one assist as Sami Hyypia's team have climbed to joint-second in the Bundesliga.

And, of course, therein lies the other bond between the two clubs—Hyypia having left Anfield as a Kop favourite after a decade of playing on Merseyside.

If there were any club the Leverkusen boss would want to lose his star to, it would probably be Rodgers' Reds, but Bender's future at least looks secure in its current state for now.