Liverpool Transfers: Who Can Fill the Void Left by Suarez at Anfield?
Will anyone be able cast the ghost of Luis Suarez away from Anfield? Mario Balotelli proved he was not the man for the job. Now Liverpool will have to try their luck in the transfer market in order to find a solution.
It is hard to believe how much Suarez’s departure affected Liverpool. Yet the numbers don’t lie. The 2014-15 Suarez-less Reds barely managed to score half of the goals the 2013-14 squad with the Uruguayan scored in the Premier League.
That fact should underline how desperate Liverpool fans should be to sign a decent striker this summer.
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Daniel Sturridge is not to blame since he was injured more often than not. But the fact that his four Premier League goals were the best of any Liverpool striker this season is simply dreadful.
Rickie Lambert and Balotelli both played more games than Sturridge, yet only combined for three Premier League goals.
Bleacher Report’s Christopher Simpson was on point when he described Balotelli’s signing as “disastrous.”
The other option in the roster was Italian striker Fabio Borini. The 24-year-old saw playing time 12 times for the Reds in 2014-15 but only managed to find the back of the net once in the Premier League.
Now, can these guys turn it around and have a good 2015-16 season? Yes.
Should you bet on it? Probably not.
Balotelli is a world-class striker when he wants to be, but his inconsistency makes him nothing more than a wild card.
Brendan Rodgers is already on the brink of losing his job at Anfield. The odds of him betting his job on Balotelli are about as low as Liverpool’s chances of signing Alexandre Lacazette.
The only striker on Liverpool’s roster deserving of a starting spot at this point is Daniel Sturridge. Nonetheless, as skilled as he is, the main concern with Sturridge is if he will be able to stay healthy.
Regardless if Sturridge remains healthy or not, Liverpool still needs reinforcements in the finishing end. Here are a couple of strikers who could be the answer to Rodgers’ puzzle:
Benteke is one of those strikers who will score goals regardless of where he plays. The Belgium international led Aston Villa on a valiant race against relegation.
In 29 games played, he managed to score 13 out of his team’s 31 Premier League goals.
Liverpool fans are no strangers to Benteke’ scoring ability, as they surely remember the 24-year-old’s game-tying goal against the Reds in their FA Cup semifinal match little over a month ago.
However, there is still the question of how Benteke would adapt to the Rodgers brand of soccer.
ESPNFC’s David Usher raised the question and compared Benteke to previous and current Liverpool strikers under Rodgers.
Usher claimed the closest comparison to Benteke in playing style is Lambert. The veteran English striker is indeed the closest player in style to Benteke that Liverpool has had during the Rodgers era.
While Lambert is not as fast or powerful as the young Belgium striker, they are both players who perform well playing as target men. They can thrive with the support of speedy wingers and aiding the build-up of plays. But unlike Suarez, they lack the skill to fend for themselves up front and create goalscoring opportunities on their own.
Nevertheless, Lambert’s lack of productivity this season is proof of how that playing style doesn’t work in Rodgers’ system.
Rodgers’ unwillingness to change his style is definitely a concern Liverpool’s higher-ups should consider if they really intend to pursue Benteke’s signature.
Another fact to consider before signing Benteke is the blow the transfer would deal to Liverpool financially.
According to Sky Sports, any club who wants the Belgium striker would have to meet his £32.5 million buy-out clause.
"There's a buy-out clause in his contract so it will be impossible for us to stop him if he wants to go,” Aston Villa boss Tim Sherwood said, according to Sky Sports.
"But someone's got to meet that buy-out clause and if they don't, it won't be considered because we don't want to lose him.”
The other part of the financial hit would come with Benteke’s salary expectations. The Daily Star reported that the striker is looking for a £150,000-a-week contract.
According to Fichajes.net, via George Bellshaw for Metro (h/t Bleacher Report's Christopher Simpson), Dzeko might be on his way to Anfield as a bargaining chip in a deal for Raheem Sterling.
Taking in account that Sterling might find himself away from Liverpool one way or another, it would not be a bad deal for the Reds to get a striker like Dzeko in return.
The Bosnian international is coming out of his weakest season since signing with Manchester City in 2011. Dzeko only started 11 games and scored four goals for Manuel Pellegrini’s side.
A change of scenery would certainly be good for the striker while having a man with something to prove also wouldn’t hurt Liverpool.
At 6'3" and weighing 185 pounds, Dzeko is also a player who thrives playing as a target man. Which brings us back to the issue of Rodgers having to change his style in order to accommodate whoever his striker may be.
It is about time the Liverpool boss accepted he won’t have a player of Suarez’s caliber to lead his front line, especially after failing to clinch a Champions League spot.
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