Liverpool Transfer News: Ezequiel Lavezzi Would Be an Astute Buy for Reds

The full effects of Liverpool losing Luis Suarez to Barcelona over the summer are, as yet, impossible to measure.

Just four games into the new Premier League season, it is difficult to gauge whether new men Rickie Lambert and Mario Balotelli will be able to make up for the 31 top-flight goals the Uruguayan contributed last season.

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However, it may well be necessary for the Reds to bring in further reinforcements in January, and they could do a lot worse than to snap up Ezequiel Lavezzi from Paris St-Germain.

Express writer Jamie Anderson reports that the Argentinian forward may well be a viable option for the Anfield outfit since he is only 29 and could likely be had for a bargain price.

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The 29-year-old's contract is due to expire in the summer of 2016, and with a new contract yet to be concluded - Brendan Rodgers may find himself with an embarrassment of striking riches.

Rickie Lambert, Fabio Borini and Mario Balotelli, though good players, may struggle to seamlessly adapt to the infamous 'Rodgers ethos' of energetic and incisive football. So, acquiring Lavezzi for a nominal fee in January, or for free in the summer would represent a sizeable coup for the Merseyside club.

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Indeed, if Reds boss Brendan Rodgers could get Lavezzi for a good price in January, he should do so for three reasons.

First, Lavezzi is an excellent player. He is versatile and would no doubt be eager to impress at Anfield.

Because of the presence of Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Edinson Cavani at PSG, Lavezzi has been somewhat marginalised—he has come on from the bench in their first three league games this season—but still managed to bag nine Ligue 1 goals last season, per WhoScored.com.

In his time at Napoli—prior to his PSG move in 2012—he was excellent, contributing both goals and assists in Serie A from a range of areas, per StatsBomb's Ted Knutson:

This variety of contribution would be invaluable to Rodgers and Liverpool, and Lavezzi could fit well into the Reds' dynamic, counter-attacking style.

The second advantage of signing Lavezzi is that he would likely be cheap. As Anderson reports, he has not signed a new contract with PSG and has not been given much playing time.

Liverpool collected between £65 million and £75 million for Suarez, per Ben Burrows in the Mirror, but brought in his direct replacements—Balotelli and Lambert—for a combined £20 million, per Andy Hunter in The Guardian and BBC Sport.

If Rodgers could bring in Lavezzi for a reasonable price as well, he would have added depth and quality to his strike unit for a mere fraction of the money brought in for Suarez.

Finally, and perhaps most importantly, Liverpool may well need another strike option in January, as none of their current crop are consistently reliable.

Daniel Sturridge bagged an impressive 21 league goals last season in the league but is currently out injured.

In his absence, the Reds lost 1-0 at home to Aston Villa with neither Lambert nor the perennially inconsistent Balotelli, per football journalist Rafael Hernandez, looking very threatening:

With Champions League and Premier League campaigns to juggle this season, Rodgers would do well to bring in the experienced and motivated Lavezzi to complement his other strikers and forward players.

While Lavezzi is not going to replace Suarez—nobody could—he offers another option up front, which could be invaluable if Balotelli in particular does not perform consistently.

If he comes at a good price, there would be very little risk, and he could likely be very useful for Liverpool in both their European and domestic pursuits.