Liverpool Transfer News: Barcelona Star Pedro Won't Join Reds in January

Barcelona's Pedro is reportedly ready to listen to offers from Liverpool and Arsenal in the January transfer window, but it's very unlikely the forward will be moving to Anfield in the new year.

As reported by Fichajes.net (h/t Metro's Will Giles), the emergence of Munir El Haddadi and arrival of Luis Suarez has the 27-year-old worried he won't be receiving regular playing time, and he's open to complete a transfer move to the Premier league.

The Spain international has appeared in every match the Catalans have played during the 2014-15 season, starting against Villarreal and Athletic Bilbao, according to WhoScored.com.

The reasoning behind Pedro's reported interest in leaving makes sense—once Suarez is eligible to play for the Blaugrana, he will immediately slot into the squad as a starter. Neymar should also be a regular starter, leaving little room on either wing or behind Suarez and Lionel Messi for any of the team's wingers to play.

El Haddadi's rise to fame is reminiscent of Adnan Januzaj's, and Rafinha will also be demanding of playing time this season. It doesn't necessarily leave Pedro as the odd man out, but the chances of him starting all of the Blaugrana's fixtures are slim at best.

Manager Luis Enrique has so far decided to rotate his arsenal of forwards, to great success. Barcelona lead La Liga with three wins in three matches and have yet to concede a single goal. Neymar was benched against Bilbao, and he responded with two goals as a substitute.

Manuel Queimadelos Alonso/Getty Images

The manager wants his players to stay hungry and fresh, and for good reason. Unlike other top clubs, Barcelona don't have the luxury of addressing potential needs in the January window due to their transfer ban.

The club can't bring in any players, and they'll be reluctant to let anyone depart. If Pedro goes, he won't leave at a discount price; interested clubs will have to come up with a significant offer. He might not be a regular starter, but per Goal's Kris Voakes, he's still an important piece to the puzzle:

Depth is key during a long season, and while La Masia offers the Catalans a way out if injuries occur, Enrique won't be foolish enough to let an experienced veteran like Pedro walk for anything but the full price.

The Reds have the financial ability to pull off a move for the Spaniard, but following the summer of 2014, there simply is no need to spend upwards of £20 million on yet another forward.

Pedro isn't a striker—he's a winger with the versatility to play in a more central role. With Adam Lallana, Raheem Sterling, Philippe Coutinho, Lucas Leiva, Lazar Markovic and Fabio Borini already in the squad, the Reds are bursting with talent in that department.

Would he be an immediate upgrade over the current starters? Probably. Does he represent more long-term upside than Lallana, Sterling, Coutinho and Markovic?  At the age of 27, he does not.

Pedro is a solid player and a perfect fit for Barcelona's intricate system, but he's no Alexis Sanchez. His top season came in 2013-14 when he netted 15 times in La Liga, per WhoScored. Before then, he only hit double-digit goals once.

Under normal circumstances, a player demanding more minutes ends up leaving a club for a transfer fee well below market value. Given the transfer ban, that simply isn't the case here.

Value is key, and in the case of Pedro to Liverpool, there simply isn't enough value for Brendan Rodgers to go through with this deal.

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