5 Players Who Could Be on Their Way out of Liverpool in January Transfer Window
Top of the table at Christmas, Liverpool are on a glorious and Luis Suarez-inspired run which is being cheered by all the club's fans.
Brendan Rodgers appears to have found a formula to which his team can play successfully, and although injuries to Steven Gerrard and Daniel Sturridge have required him to alter things somewhat, the Reds boss looks to have his core of players in place for what could well be a successful season.
The likes of Raheem Sterling, Joe Allen and Jon Flanagan have all become regulars in recent weeks, and that has meant there is less playing time for others.
Liverpool don't have the biggest squad in the Premier League, but with Rodgers no doubt seeking to make a couple of quality additions in January―as he did last year with Sturridge and Philippe Coutinho―then some of those squad players might find themselves frozen out.
Moves away from the club on either a temporary or permanent basis could be the answer, but which players could be let go?
Here we look at five names who might be headed for the exit door next month.
Daniel Agger
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It's almost as though this season has never really happened for Daniel Agger, the Dane who would have had such high hopes at the beginning of it after being named as vice-captain following the retirement of Jamie Carragher.
Agger started the first three matches of the campaign as the Reds kept three successive clean sheets, but he's completed the 90 minutes just three times since then due to injuries and the form of Martin Skrtel, Mamadou Sakho and Kolo Toure.
Undoubtedly a fine defender, Agger's problem seems to be that, like him, Sakho is very left-sided and so Rodgers would appear to be reluctant to pair the two together.
Skrtel has also been ever-present ever since stepping in from the cold to star against Manchester United in the third game of the season, and so Agger has often been frustrated.
It would be a huge surprise and a disappointment to see such a talented and popular player leave the club, but with the Daily Mail reporting that Rafael Benitez is keen to reunite with a player that he signed for the Reds at Napoli, the ball would very much appear to be in Agger's court.
If he expressed a desire to leave, then Liverpool could act on it.
Iago Aspas
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When moving to a new country and a new division, the last thing that a footballer needs is an injury to hamper him.
Iago Aspas had looked promising in pre-season ahead of his first campaign for the Reds, and in the absence of the suspended Luis Suarez he was pressed into service from the very beginning, but after failing to complete 90 minutes in his first five games for the club, injury means that he's now played just four Premier League minutes in the last 12 games.
In that time he watched Suarez and Sturridge strike up a potent partnership, and now doubts have been cast on the former Celta Vigo man's long-term future with the Reds, especially as he's still not getting in the team despite an injury to Sturridge.
Swansea City forward Michu has suggested that his club should take Aspas on loan in January (Daily Mirror) with Liverpool perhaps willing to do a deal in the same manner that they loaned Fabio Borini to Sunderland earlier this season.
Any switch would perhaps depend on the Reds getting in a replacement though, whilst it could also be argued that, at 26, Aspas isn't exactly in need of first-team experience.
But if he stays with the Reds, more time on the bench awaits.
Tiago Ilori
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Stylish Portuguese defender Tiago Ilori was only recruited from Sporting Lisbon last transfer deadline day, but Rodgers has already confirmed that he could send the 20-year-old out on loan in January (LiverpoolFC.com).
The abundance of central defenders available to the Northern Irishman has ensured that Ilori is yet to make his senior debut for the Reds, and the London-born Portuguese youth international would surely benefit from such a switch.
Clubs the calibre of Valencia (Daily Mail) have been linked with a temporary move for the youngster, and whilst that would of course represent a glamorous switch for the player, Rodgers will want to make sure that Ilori plays as much first-team football as possible as he maintains an eye on giving him a Reds first-team berth next season and in the seasons to come.
Aly Cissokho
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Aly Cissokho is on loan from Valencia for the rest of the season, but as Liverpool showed with Nuri Sahin in the last campaign, the Reds aren't afraid to cancel such deals if they just aren't working out.
An injury in the opening minutes of his first Liverpool start in the League Cup win over Notts County was a huge setback for the French international, who nonetheless returned to the side in October following an injury to Jose Enrique.
Four successive starts between October and November suggested that he could nail down the left-back berth for the foreseeable future, but Cissokho hasn't featured at all in the six games since the 4-0 win over Fulham, with the form of Jon Flanagan keeping him on the sidelines and often not even on the substitutes' bench.
He's not been a terrible addition, but with Flanagan proving an able performer in his position and the Reds perhaps looking for a proven successor to Enrique in January, perhaps it will be best for all parties if his deal was cut short?
Jordon Ibe
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Youngster Jordon Ibe sparkled for Liverpool in pre-season having made his senior debut in the last game of the last campaign against Queens Park Rangers, and like Ilori, the 18-year-old could benefit from a temporary move away to gain more first-team action.
Ibe, an England under-19 international, played all 120 minutes of the League Cup win over Notts County in August but he hasn't been called upon at all in the Premier League, somewhat understandably given the players he is fighting for a place with.
The Derby Telegraph has linked Ibe with a move which would see him follow in the footsteps of teammate Andre Wisdom and join Championship high-flyers Derby County on loan for the rest of the season, and Rodgers would surely be receptive to such a deal.
With Liverpool challenging for honours and looking to stay near the top of the table there won't be the opportunity for Rodgers to blood young players as he did in the latter part of last season, and so gaining some football away from Anfield could be crucial for them.
