Luiz Adriano Transfer Boost for Liverpool, Brendan Rodgers on Reds Rumours

Liverpool have been given a boost in their reported pursuit of Shakhtar Donetsk striker Luiz Adriano with the Ukrainian outfit having turned down a bid for the Brazilian from Roma.

According to David Wright in the Express, the Serie A outfit put in a bid of £1.5 million for an initial loan move for the 27-year-old ahead of a £5 million future purchase but were turned down by Shakhtar.

Shakhtar CEO Sergei Palkin said that while his club are still prepared to do business with Roma, they will need to increase their offer if they want to sign Adriano, per Wright:

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We're still dealing with the Giallorossi for Luiz Adriano. But for the moment the offer is inadequate. We'll see what's going to happen over the next few days.

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However, Italian football writer Dylan Fahy suggests Roma have moved their interests elsewhere, leaving the door open for Liverpool to pursue the striker, who is clearly available at the right price:

While Wright reports that Arsenal are also interested in Adriano, the Gunners' need for a striker is less urgent than Liverpool's, thus the Reds should be willing to outbid their Premier League rivals if necessary.

Brendan Rodgers' side have struggled consistently up front this season without the injured Daniel Sturridge and departed Luis Suarez, summer purchases Rickie Lambert and Mario Balotelli proving inadequate replacements, with the latter potentially set for an imminent departure per B/R UK's Matt Ladson below: 

However, Adriano may just be the kind of goalscorer they need, the Brazil international having bagged nine goals in five Champions League appearances this season, per WhoScored.com.

If Adriano is available for a January purchase, though, Rodgers seems to have poured cold water on the Reds going in for him after effectively ruling out any Anfield transfer dealings in the current window.

As Vaishali Bhardwaj in Metro reports, the Liverpool boss has dismissed speculation on all potential January moves: 

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Every manager will always want more signings. I would want to be able to do one or two things. But I always said the likelihood was we wouldn’t sign anyone in January and it looks like that is going to be the case.

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If Rodgers is to be trusted then, Liverpool are unlikely to be going in for Adriano—or anyone else—until the summer at the earliest, despite the Brazilian's apparent availability and the Reds' striking problems.

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Should that be the case, while Liverpool have improved of late, they will have to rely heavily on Raheem Sterling, Lambert, Balotelli and a returning-but-nowhere-near-match-fit Sturridge as they bid to finish the season in the top four.

Rodgers clearly has confidence that he can get the best out of his current set of players in the back half of the season, but he may end up ruing a shortage of in-form strikers.

Adriano would be a sensible—and relatively cheap—addition to the Anfield setup in January, but it seems unlikely to go through in the wake of Rodgers' comments.